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Illinois Cultural News
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Illinois Cultural News
(Articles appear from the newest to the oldest. To read the articles in the time line in which they were posted, scroll down to find the oldest in the tread and read upwards from oldest to newest.)
Closing a Coal-Fired, Electricity-Generating Power Plant
by Joyce Geiler
The Wood River, Illinois coal-fired electricity-generating power plant closed June 1. Upwards of 90 individuals are losing their jobs as a result. In addition to job loss, the closure represents the loss of $1.6 million in property taxes, including an estimated $800,000 to the Alton School District and $300,000 to the village of East Alton. East Alton Mayor Joe Silkwood said the job loss amounts to $12 million in combined income.
Read the story here.
This article investigates the back-story, the events precipitating the closure, which is just one such closure of several in Illinois.
The Wood River Power Station includes two coal-fueled units that entered commercial operation in 1954 and 1964, respectively. Its owner, Dynegy Inc. announced last November it would retire the plant because of what it calls unfair market conditions. The plant's unprofitable economic operation stems from the design of the wholesale capacity market in Central and Southern Illinois that does not allow competitive generators (power plants) to recover costs. Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO), a not-for-profit organization, is responsible for setting “capacity costs,” the price customers pay on their energy bills to ensure power plants are able to deliver electricity when demand is highest. Think of MISO as the air traffic controller of the power grid. This entity allows neighboring state regulated plants, which receive higher guaranteed state compensation, to compete with unregulated plants in Southern Illinois whose ability to recover costs is set by MISO. Mixing these two regulatory regimes together in the same capacity auction puts all generating units in Central and Southern Illinois at financial risk regardless of fuel type, and it shifts jobs and the economic benefits of hosting generating plants from Central and Southern Illinois to neighboring states.
More information available here.
On the other hand, a study done by MISO found the plant is not essential to the region in part because there are upgrades that make the whole electricity production and distribution system more efficient. New transformers and larger power lines improve how energy is delivered, and dispatching energy from other areas of the system will help make up for the loss of the plant.
Digging deeper and farther back in time, other issues are found. In January 2009, a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of coal combustion waste stored in surface impoundments ranked the Wood River station number 90 with 267,066 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006. Because it is a site at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, the Wood River impoundment pond has earned a High Hazard Potential Rating. The rating does not assess the likelihood of such an event only that it would be potentially hazardous if it did happen.
Coal waste is typically disposed of in surface impoundments, mine-fills, landfills, and recycled into other products. Although there has been a recent trend away from disposal of coal wastes in surface impoundments and towards landfills, numerous sites, such as Wood River, still use surface impoundments. Unlike a landfill, which only holds dry wastes, a surface impoundment is an uncovered area of hollowed land, made of mainly earthen material, which holds liquid wastes.
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, with the most dangerous particles being those that are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's uncompensated harms affecting the public at large. The Clean Air Task Force even has tables where one can find the risks associated with individual power plants. The risks associated with the Wood River Plant include an annual potential incidence of 27 deaths, 42 heart attacks, 460 asthma attacks, 19 hospitalizations, 17 cases of chronic bronchitis, and 29 asthma emergency room visits.
On March 7, 2005 the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. EPA along with the State of Illinois announced a settlement between Illinois Power Company and its successor, Dynegy. The Wood River Station, along with four other power plants, was included. The EPA stated that this "settlement requires installation of four new flue gas desulfurization devices (scrubbers) to control SO2; four new baghouses to control particulate matter (soot); and operation of existing control equipment, including three selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems, year-round to control NOx. The entire five-plant system will be subject to annual emission caps to assure that significant system-wide reductions for both SO2 and NOx are achieved."
More research can be found here.
One can imagine the great cost to Dynegy to meet these regulations!
Nearly half of Illinois' electrical power is generated by nuclear power. Coal is the fuel used for generating slightly less percentage than that which is produced by nuclear power. Illinois is 5th in the nation in coal power generation, with operating coal-fired units at 33 locations totaling 17,565 megawatts. According to the Illinois EPA, Illinois power plants have a total of 83 coal ash impoundments and one permitted landfill where coal ash is being disposed. As of 2011, Illinois ranked first in the number of coal ash ponds, yet only about a third of the ponds are lined or monitored. Several environmental groups have charged that coal ash is improperly disposed of and is causing drinking water contamination.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed using coal ash to t fortify a 200 mile stretch of flood-protection levees on both sides of the Mississippi River between Alton and Gale in Illinois' southern tip alleging that because of the chemical reaction that takes place with lime, coal ash, and water, trace heavy metals are locked into the cement matrix and are no longer able to leach into the ground. Illinois is at the heart of the national debate on coal. In no other state has coal interests pushed for more new investment (new facilities). These speculations have gained critical support from the state’s governmental leaders.
Source Watch lists 14 citizens groups in Illinois working against coal. Only four pro-coal lobbying groups are listed. Source Watch is published by The Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit liberal watchdog and advocacy group. The site lists numerous articles delineating problems with coal.
View more here.
It is readily evident that Illinois, like other states whose economies are intricately linked to coal, is experiencing troubling times. While regulation for the safety of citizens is biblical, over-regulation drives businesses to close.
by Joyce Geiler
The Wood River, Illinois coal-fired electricity-generating power plant closed June 1. Upwards of 90 individuals are losing their jobs as a result. In addition to job loss, the closure represents the loss of $1.6 million in property taxes, including an estimated $800,000 to the Alton School District and $300,000 to the village of East Alton. East Alton Mayor Joe Silkwood said the job loss amounts to $12 million in combined income.
Read the story here.
This article investigates the back-story, the events precipitating the closure, which is just one such closure of several in Illinois.
The Wood River Power Station includes two coal-fueled units that entered commercial operation in 1954 and 1964, respectively. Its owner, Dynegy Inc. announced last November it would retire the plant because of what it calls unfair market conditions. The plant's unprofitable economic operation stems from the design of the wholesale capacity market in Central and Southern Illinois that does not allow competitive generators (power plants) to recover costs. Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO), a not-for-profit organization, is responsible for setting “capacity costs,” the price customers pay on their energy bills to ensure power plants are able to deliver electricity when demand is highest. Think of MISO as the air traffic controller of the power grid. This entity allows neighboring state regulated plants, which receive higher guaranteed state compensation, to compete with unregulated plants in Southern Illinois whose ability to recover costs is set by MISO. Mixing these two regulatory regimes together in the same capacity auction puts all generating units in Central and Southern Illinois at financial risk regardless of fuel type, and it shifts jobs and the economic benefits of hosting generating plants from Central and Southern Illinois to neighboring states.
More information available here.
On the other hand, a study done by MISO found the plant is not essential to the region in part because there are upgrades that make the whole electricity production and distribution system more efficient. New transformers and larger power lines improve how energy is delivered, and dispatching energy from other areas of the system will help make up for the loss of the plant.
Digging deeper and farther back in time, other issues are found. In January 2009, a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of coal combustion waste stored in surface impoundments ranked the Wood River station number 90 with 267,066 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006. Because it is a site at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, the Wood River impoundment pond has earned a High Hazard Potential Rating. The rating does not assess the likelihood of such an event only that it would be potentially hazardous if it did happen.
Coal waste is typically disposed of in surface impoundments, mine-fills, landfills, and recycled into other products. Although there has been a recent trend away from disposal of coal wastes in surface impoundments and towards landfills, numerous sites, such as Wood River, still use surface impoundments. Unlike a landfill, which only holds dry wastes, a surface impoundment is an uncovered area of hollowed land, made of mainly earthen material, which holds liquid wastes.
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, with the most dangerous particles being those that are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's uncompensated harms affecting the public at large. The Clean Air Task Force even has tables where one can find the risks associated with individual power plants. The risks associated with the Wood River Plant include an annual potential incidence of 27 deaths, 42 heart attacks, 460 asthma attacks, 19 hospitalizations, 17 cases of chronic bronchitis, and 29 asthma emergency room visits.
On March 7, 2005 the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. EPA along with the State of Illinois announced a settlement between Illinois Power Company and its successor, Dynegy. The Wood River Station, along with four other power plants, was included. The EPA stated that this "settlement requires installation of four new flue gas desulfurization devices (scrubbers) to control SO2; four new baghouses to control particulate matter (soot); and operation of existing control equipment, including three selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems, year-round to control NOx. The entire five-plant system will be subject to annual emission caps to assure that significant system-wide reductions for both SO2 and NOx are achieved."
More research can be found here.
One can imagine the great cost to Dynegy to meet these regulations!
Nearly half of Illinois' electrical power is generated by nuclear power. Coal is the fuel used for generating slightly less percentage than that which is produced by nuclear power. Illinois is 5th in the nation in coal power generation, with operating coal-fired units at 33 locations totaling 17,565 megawatts. According to the Illinois EPA, Illinois power plants have a total of 83 coal ash impoundments and one permitted landfill where coal ash is being disposed. As of 2011, Illinois ranked first in the number of coal ash ponds, yet only about a third of the ponds are lined or monitored. Several environmental groups have charged that coal ash is improperly disposed of and is causing drinking water contamination.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed using coal ash to t fortify a 200 mile stretch of flood-protection levees on both sides of the Mississippi River between Alton and Gale in Illinois' southern tip alleging that because of the chemical reaction that takes place with lime, coal ash, and water, trace heavy metals are locked into the cement matrix and are no longer able to leach into the ground. Illinois is at the heart of the national debate on coal. In no other state has coal interests pushed for more new investment (new facilities). These speculations have gained critical support from the state’s governmental leaders.
Source Watch lists 14 citizens groups in Illinois working against coal. Only four pro-coal lobbying groups are listed. Source Watch is published by The Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit liberal watchdog and advocacy group. The site lists numerous articles delineating problems with coal.
View more here.
It is readily evident that Illinois, like other states whose economies are intricately linked to coal, is experiencing troubling times. While regulation for the safety of citizens is biblical, over-regulation drives businesses to close.
Criminal Justice Reform by Joyce Geiler
Illinois population grew 12.5% from 1990 to 2014; Illinois prison population grew 75%. America represents 5% of the world’s population—and 25% of its prisoners. Today, 2.3 million American adults, 1 in 100, are in prison or jail across the country. Both the Illinois Legislature and the U.S. Legislature are considering Criminal Justice Reform packages.
In March of this year Gov. Rauner and a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced an Illinois Criminal Justice Reform package. The package included three bipartisan bills that address several of the 14 recommendations proposed by the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform established last year. The
package of bills takes the first steps to break the cycle of recidivism, by aiming to reduce both prison admissions and the length of someone’s prison stay. The American Civil Liberties Union published the results of a formal Illinois poll conducted just before the 2015 holidays that show that a majority of Illinoisans support criminal justice reform. More information available at http://www.justiceactionnetwork.org/about/
A summary of the bills in the Reform package follows:
SB3164 requires review of a pre-sentencing report, as well as an explanation of why incarceration is appropriate for offenders with no prior probation sentences or prison convictions prior to sentencing. Last year, nearly 60 percent of new prison admissions for Class 3 or 4 felonies had no prior convictions for violent crimes. Sending low-level offenders with no prior probation or other convictions inefficiently uses prison resources and potentially makes low-level offenders more susceptible to reoffending.
SB3294 expands the use of electronic monitoring to help transition offenders back into society. This will increase public safety by more effectively focusing Illinois Department of Correction's supervision and programming resources to reduce recidivism.
SB3368 requires the Secretary of State and the IDOC to work together to provide state identification so offenders can transition into society more easily.
Learn more here
http://www.rebootillinois.com/2016/03/02/editors-picks/kevin-hoffmanrebootillinois-com/rauner-bipartisan-group-of-lawmakers-announce-illinois-criminal-justice-reform-package/53855/
The State Journal-Register, an Illinois newspaper, recently published an op-ed from Holly Harris, the Executive Director of the U.S. Justice Action Network outlining how the state is on the cusp of emerging as a leader on criminal justice reforms.
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20160513/OPINION/160519727
The nonprofit U.S. Justice Action Network is a young organization staffed by three younger generation people. The organization provides lobbying and advocacy at the federal level and has conducted criminal justice reform polling in 11 key states, including Illinois, with the goal of reforming the American justice system. http://www.justiceactionnetwork.org/about/
According to the Justice Action Network, 92% of voters in Illinois — including 92% of Democrats and 96% of Republicans — favor reducing prison time for those who commit low-risk, non-violent offenses and 82% support sending fewer individuals who commit low-risk, non-violent offenses to prison in the first place. Eighty-seven percent of Illinois voters — including 89% of Democrats and 91% of Republicans — would support replacing mandatory minimum sentences with sentencing ranges so that judges can weigh the individual circumstances of each case when determining the appropriate penalty. Ninety-four percent of voters agree that the system should offer more rehabilitation and job training, which gives returning citizens the tools they need to find jobs, support their families and, most importantly, turn away from crime.
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20160513/OPINION/160519727
On the federal level, the White House has been pushing ahead to pass a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill in Pres. Obama’s last year. This week, economists in the Obama administration released a report which said that crowded U.S prisons are harming the nation’s economy. They argued the economy would benefit from investing in prisoner education and job opportunities for felons. http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/25/exclusive-house-judiciary-committee-plans-to-push-ahead-with-criminal-justice-reform/#ixzz48s2DAHoE
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 on October 22, 2015. The legislation, which includes provisions not found in Illinois' bill:
Reforms mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses;
Gives judges discretion on sentencing;
Expands programs to reduce recidivism;
Applies reforms retroactively to those already in prison.
http://www.justiceactionnetwork.org/about/
As of April 12 this year, a total of 16 Republicans supported the legislation, which has been tied up in negotiations for months. It also has 15 Democratic co-sponsors. U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) is the most recent to sign on. He joins U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) who already supports the bill. Criminal justice reform advocates have been trying to gain the support of some of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents. The fact that Sen. Kirk is facing a tough reelection battle this fall with Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) might have factored into his decision to support the bill. “We’ve been trying to pull these senators with tough reelects onto the bill,” said Holly Harris, executive director of the U.S. Justice Action Network. “Not only are these good policies, but they make for good politics.” http://thehill.com/regulation/276005-kirk-to-sign-on-to-criminal-justice-reform-bill
While the administration has touted criminal justice reform as a bipartisan initiative, conservative groups have come against the proposals the Senate has so far introduced. The bill would retroactively reduce the minimum sentencing requirements for all individuals (regardless of their citizenship or immigration status) convicted of certain federal crimes. It would only apply to federal prisons, which comprise 9% of the entire incarcerated population in the United States. Last fall, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported that 77% of individuals convicted of federal drug possession charges and more than 25% of individuals convicted of federal drug trafficking charges in fiscal year 2015 were non-citizens who would most likely be released with this legislation.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/25/exclusive-house-judiciary-committee-plans-to-push-ahead-with-criminal-justice-reform/#ixzz48s2DAHoE
According to the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates transparency and accountability in government, especially regarding finances, 28 different groups are lined up to lobby both sides of the bill. https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2016/03/02/dozens-of-groups-lobby-heavily-on-criminal-justice-reform-bill/ Senator Tom Cotton, Republican from Arkansas, is one of the most outspoken opponents of the bill. Other Republican legislators have joined him. According to Sen. Cotton, "This bill would cut mandatory minimum sentences, make thousands of violent criminals eligible for release from prison, and ultimately make America more dangerous." He feels the Act will not only affect first time offenders and those who have committed non-violent crimes but it will apply to repeat offenders, felons, and major drug traffickers. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/why-i-oppose-the-sentencing-reform-and-corrections-act/article/2583066
Illinois population grew 12.5% from 1990 to 2014; Illinois prison population grew 75%. America represents 5% of the world’s population—and 25% of its prisoners. Today, 2.3 million American adults, 1 in 100, are in prison or jail across the country. Both the Illinois Legislature and the U.S. Legislature are considering Criminal Justice Reform packages.
In March of this year Gov. Rauner and a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced an Illinois Criminal Justice Reform package. The package included three bipartisan bills that address several of the 14 recommendations proposed by the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform established last year. The
package of bills takes the first steps to break the cycle of recidivism, by aiming to reduce both prison admissions and the length of someone’s prison stay. The American Civil Liberties Union published the results of a formal Illinois poll conducted just before the 2015 holidays that show that a majority of Illinoisans support criminal justice reform. More information available at http://www.justiceactionnetwork.org/about/
A summary of the bills in the Reform package follows:
SB3164 requires review of a pre-sentencing report, as well as an explanation of why incarceration is appropriate for offenders with no prior probation sentences or prison convictions prior to sentencing. Last year, nearly 60 percent of new prison admissions for Class 3 or 4 felonies had no prior convictions for violent crimes. Sending low-level offenders with no prior probation or other convictions inefficiently uses prison resources and potentially makes low-level offenders more susceptible to reoffending.
SB3294 expands the use of electronic monitoring to help transition offenders back into society. This will increase public safety by more effectively focusing Illinois Department of Correction's supervision and programming resources to reduce recidivism.
SB3368 requires the Secretary of State and the IDOC to work together to provide state identification so offenders can transition into society more easily.
Learn more here
http://www.rebootillinois.com/2016/03/02/editors-picks/kevin-hoffmanrebootillinois-com/rauner-bipartisan-group-of-lawmakers-announce-illinois-criminal-justice-reform-package/53855/
The State Journal-Register, an Illinois newspaper, recently published an op-ed from Holly Harris, the Executive Director of the U.S. Justice Action Network outlining how the state is on the cusp of emerging as a leader on criminal justice reforms.
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20160513/OPINION/160519727
The nonprofit U.S. Justice Action Network is a young organization staffed by three younger generation people. The organization provides lobbying and advocacy at the federal level and has conducted criminal justice reform polling in 11 key states, including Illinois, with the goal of reforming the American justice system. http://www.justiceactionnetwork.org/about/
According to the Justice Action Network, 92% of voters in Illinois — including 92% of Democrats and 96% of Republicans — favor reducing prison time for those who commit low-risk, non-violent offenses and 82% support sending fewer individuals who commit low-risk, non-violent offenses to prison in the first place. Eighty-seven percent of Illinois voters — including 89% of Democrats and 91% of Republicans — would support replacing mandatory minimum sentences with sentencing ranges so that judges can weigh the individual circumstances of each case when determining the appropriate penalty. Ninety-four percent of voters agree that the system should offer more rehabilitation and job training, which gives returning citizens the tools they need to find jobs, support their families and, most importantly, turn away from crime.
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20160513/OPINION/160519727
On the federal level, the White House has been pushing ahead to pass a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill in Pres. Obama’s last year. This week, economists in the Obama administration released a report which said that crowded U.S prisons are harming the nation’s economy. They argued the economy would benefit from investing in prisoner education and job opportunities for felons. http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/25/exclusive-house-judiciary-committee-plans-to-push-ahead-with-criminal-justice-reform/#ixzz48s2DAHoE
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 on October 22, 2015. The legislation, which includes provisions not found in Illinois' bill:
Reforms mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses;
Gives judges discretion on sentencing;
Expands programs to reduce recidivism;
Applies reforms retroactively to those already in prison.
http://www.justiceactionnetwork.org/about/
As of April 12 this year, a total of 16 Republicans supported the legislation, which has been tied up in negotiations for months. It also has 15 Democratic co-sponsors. U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) is the most recent to sign on. He joins U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) who already supports the bill. Criminal justice reform advocates have been trying to gain the support of some of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents. The fact that Sen. Kirk is facing a tough reelection battle this fall with Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) might have factored into his decision to support the bill. “We’ve been trying to pull these senators with tough reelects onto the bill,” said Holly Harris, executive director of the U.S. Justice Action Network. “Not only are these good policies, but they make for good politics.” http://thehill.com/regulation/276005-kirk-to-sign-on-to-criminal-justice-reform-bill
While the administration has touted criminal justice reform as a bipartisan initiative, conservative groups have come against the proposals the Senate has so far introduced. The bill would retroactively reduce the minimum sentencing requirements for all individuals (regardless of their citizenship or immigration status) convicted of certain federal crimes. It would only apply to federal prisons, which comprise 9% of the entire incarcerated population in the United States. Last fall, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported that 77% of individuals convicted of federal drug possession charges and more than 25% of individuals convicted of federal drug trafficking charges in fiscal year 2015 were non-citizens who would most likely be released with this legislation.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/25/exclusive-house-judiciary-committee-plans-to-push-ahead-with-criminal-justice-reform/#ixzz48s2DAHoE
According to the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates transparency and accountability in government, especially regarding finances, 28 different groups are lined up to lobby both sides of the bill. https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2016/03/02/dozens-of-groups-lobby-heavily-on-criminal-justice-reform-bill/ Senator Tom Cotton, Republican from Arkansas, is one of the most outspoken opponents of the bill. Other Republican legislators have joined him. According to Sen. Cotton, "This bill would cut mandatory minimum sentences, make thousands of violent criminals eligible for release from prison, and ultimately make America more dangerous." He feels the Act will not only affect first time offenders and those who have committed non-violent crimes but it will apply to repeat offenders, felons, and major drug traffickers. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/why-i-oppose-the-sentencing-reform-and-corrections-act/article/2583066
Juvenile Diversion by Joyce Geiler
A criminal record for a minor infraction can limit a young person's ability to get a job or go to school. The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission has provisions for records to be expunged when certain conditions are met. Expungement means a case is treated as if it never happened. However, only a tiny share of juvenile arrest records in Illinois get expunged because of burdensome state laws that are among the worst in the nation. These juvenile records create obstacles to employment, housing and education that threaten public safety, say the authors of a new report requested by the state legislature.
Out of the 1.85 million juvenile arrests made in Illinois between 2004 and 2014, just 5,310 records were expunged, according to the analysis recently published by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. That's only three expungements for every 1,000 juvenile arrests, and the majority of those took place in Cook County. Half of the counties in the state reported no expungements over the decade. Nearly 90 percent of the counties averaged less than one juvenile expungement per year.
The commission found that lengthy waiting periods, expensive fees and complicated forms keep many young people from pursuing expungement. In addition, county clerk and law enforcement officials often neglect to tell young people that the option exists. The paper trail can have far-reaching consequences, including the risk that blocking people from jobs could lead them to more crime. When a young person's ability to get a job or go to school is limited, the opposite effect from what is desired is created for the people of Illinois.
Eligibility restrictions in Illinois limit what kinds of offenses can be expunged. People cannot get their records expunged if the records involve first-degree murder or sex offenses that would have been considered felonies if they were adults. In addition, juveniles arrested for other offenses lose their eligibility for expungement if they are convicted of any crime, now matter how minor, after their 18th birthday. Currently youth need to wait until they are 18 or 21, depending on the nature of their offense, to start the process of expungement. and there must have been at least five years time elapsed since their last court proceeding.
The report also said Illinois' laws fall far short of best practices for keeping juvenile records confidential, allowing too many people to have access to records, including potential employers, and not imposing any penalties on people who unlawfully share them. The commission offered several recommendations, most of which would require action from state lawmakers. Among the recommendations is expanding eligibility for expungement by giving judges discretion when considering an adult conviction, and changing the law to reduce waiting periods and age limits. The report also recommended eliminating expungement fees, which can run from $60 up to $320 per arrest record, depending on the county, and expanding automatic expungement*. On matters of confidentiality, it recommends eliminating provisions in the law that permit records to be shared with the general public and creating sanctions for those who improperly disclose records. It also recommends the state provide system-wide education to law enforcement agencies and clerk's offices about compliance with confidentiality and expungement laws. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-juvenile-records-expunged-0429-biz-20160428-story.html
*Automatic expungement: Beginning in 2016, the Illinois State Police will begin once-per-year expungement of some juvenile arrest records from its database. Expungement would be limited to most but not all misdemeanors and low-level felonies committed after Jan. 1, 2015. State Police records would only be automatically expunged if the juvenile has not been formally charged with the crime, and this kind of expungement would only apply to those juveniles who have turned 18 in the preceding calendar year and who have not been arrested or been the subject of a delinquency petition in a six-month period preceding the date of eligibility for expungement.
This link leads to a website that explains expungement and sealing of records in lay language.
Even with these dauntingly negative statistics on the low utilization of expungement in Illinois, there are some positive stories. Where the courts and law enforcement partner with the community, the number of underage offenders sent back to juvenile detention can be reduced. Children's Home and Aid, a child and family services organization with a regional office in Granite City (Madison County), received more than $400,000 from the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission to provide reintegration services to youth after they are released from detention. Madison and St. Clair counties as well as Chicago's West Side have some of the highest youth incarceration rates in the state.
Young offenders get a second chance in Madison County with a program to prevent first time offenders from becoming career criminals. The program is called the Juvenile Diversion Program, and kids who have completed the program say they've turned their lives around after committing their first crime. Rev. Tim Stark, Associate Pastor at Son Life Church at the time, founded the program which provides first time offenders a chance to have criminal charges dismissed if they attend meetings and perform 40 hours of community service.
Youth diversion in Madison County took root in late 2005 when Stark heard Collinsville's police chief, Scott Williams, tell a group of businessmen about how his officers had to ticket senior citizens who'd neglected their properties, although the owners were physically unable to do the work. Juvenile Diversion's defining component, community service, was born just a few months later. Stark sees projects such as clearing yards and painting barns as an extraction of an apology through service. "It lets kids see the emotional return in doing good for someone who can't do it themselves," he said. The diversion program gives minors who have committed crimes like shoplifting or fighting the chance to clean their slate if they participate in educational and mentoring sessions. At graduation the juveniles receive documentation that their charges have been dismissed. Over 70% of those completing the program do not re-offend within six months. The success of the program is due to the cooperation of the local police department, the state's attorney, and committed members of the community working together for the redemption of the youth. http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/illinois/news/program-aims-to-curb-metro-east-youth-from-repeating-crimes/article_7623dacd-8425-5ec5-8a60-6f4fda5b2d04.html
Details of one church's involvement in the diversion program can be found at the following link: http://gatewayfamilychurch.com/ministries/juvenile-diversion-program/
The program dovetails with another pilot program that came to the Metro East in 2004, Redeploy Illinois. Working on the front end of youth incarceration, Redeploy Illinois provides services like mental health and substance abuse treatment, life skills education and family therapy to at-risk youth. In its first four years, Redeploy Illinois kept 382 adolescents out of detention centers statewide. One hundred fifty three of those were from St. Clair County. The program spread to Madison County in 2009. Madison County Associate Judge Janet Heflin said it's dramatically reduced youth recidivism. Read this article. http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/illinois/news/program-aims-to-curb-metro-east-youth-from-repeating-crimes/article_7623dacd-8425-5ec5-8a60-6f4fda5b2d04.html
The Redeploy Illinois program grants funds to counties or groups of counties that will establish a continuum of local, community-based sanctions and treatment alternatives for juvenile offenders who would otherwise be incarcerated if those local services and sanctions were not available. This website gives statistics of the program: http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=31991
A criminal record for a minor infraction can limit a young person's ability to get a job or go to school. The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission has provisions for records to be expunged when certain conditions are met. Expungement means a case is treated as if it never happened. However, only a tiny share of juvenile arrest records in Illinois get expunged because of burdensome state laws that are among the worst in the nation. These juvenile records create obstacles to employment, housing and education that threaten public safety, say the authors of a new report requested by the state legislature.
Out of the 1.85 million juvenile arrests made in Illinois between 2004 and 2014, just 5,310 records were expunged, according to the analysis recently published by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. That's only three expungements for every 1,000 juvenile arrests, and the majority of those took place in Cook County. Half of the counties in the state reported no expungements over the decade. Nearly 90 percent of the counties averaged less than one juvenile expungement per year.
The commission found that lengthy waiting periods, expensive fees and complicated forms keep many young people from pursuing expungement. In addition, county clerk and law enforcement officials often neglect to tell young people that the option exists. The paper trail can have far-reaching consequences, including the risk that blocking people from jobs could lead them to more crime. When a young person's ability to get a job or go to school is limited, the opposite effect from what is desired is created for the people of Illinois.
Eligibility restrictions in Illinois limit what kinds of offenses can be expunged. People cannot get their records expunged if the records involve first-degree murder or sex offenses that would have been considered felonies if they were adults. In addition, juveniles arrested for other offenses lose their eligibility for expungement if they are convicted of any crime, now matter how minor, after their 18th birthday. Currently youth need to wait until they are 18 or 21, depending on the nature of their offense, to start the process of expungement. and there must have been at least five years time elapsed since their last court proceeding.
The report also said Illinois' laws fall far short of best practices for keeping juvenile records confidential, allowing too many people to have access to records, including potential employers, and not imposing any penalties on people who unlawfully share them. The commission offered several recommendations, most of which would require action from state lawmakers. Among the recommendations is expanding eligibility for expungement by giving judges discretion when considering an adult conviction, and changing the law to reduce waiting periods and age limits. The report also recommended eliminating expungement fees, which can run from $60 up to $320 per arrest record, depending on the county, and expanding automatic expungement*. On matters of confidentiality, it recommends eliminating provisions in the law that permit records to be shared with the general public and creating sanctions for those who improperly disclose records. It also recommends the state provide system-wide education to law enforcement agencies and clerk's offices about compliance with confidentiality and expungement laws. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-juvenile-records-expunged-0429-biz-20160428-story.html
*Automatic expungement: Beginning in 2016, the Illinois State Police will begin once-per-year expungement of some juvenile arrest records from its database. Expungement would be limited to most but not all misdemeanors and low-level felonies committed after Jan. 1, 2015. State Police records would only be automatically expunged if the juvenile has not been formally charged with the crime, and this kind of expungement would only apply to those juveniles who have turned 18 in the preceding calendar year and who have not been arrested or been the subject of a delinquency petition in a six-month period preceding the date of eligibility for expungement.
This link leads to a website that explains expungement and sealing of records in lay language.
Even with these dauntingly negative statistics on the low utilization of expungement in Illinois, there are some positive stories. Where the courts and law enforcement partner with the community, the number of underage offenders sent back to juvenile detention can be reduced. Children's Home and Aid, a child and family services organization with a regional office in Granite City (Madison County), received more than $400,000 from the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission to provide reintegration services to youth after they are released from detention. Madison and St. Clair counties as well as Chicago's West Side have some of the highest youth incarceration rates in the state.
Young offenders get a second chance in Madison County with a program to prevent first time offenders from becoming career criminals. The program is called the Juvenile Diversion Program, and kids who have completed the program say they've turned their lives around after committing their first crime. Rev. Tim Stark, Associate Pastor at Son Life Church at the time, founded the program which provides first time offenders a chance to have criminal charges dismissed if they attend meetings and perform 40 hours of community service.
Youth diversion in Madison County took root in late 2005 when Stark heard Collinsville's police chief, Scott Williams, tell a group of businessmen about how his officers had to ticket senior citizens who'd neglected their properties, although the owners were physically unable to do the work. Juvenile Diversion's defining component, community service, was born just a few months later. Stark sees projects such as clearing yards and painting barns as an extraction of an apology through service. "It lets kids see the emotional return in doing good for someone who can't do it themselves," he said. The diversion program gives minors who have committed crimes like shoplifting or fighting the chance to clean their slate if they participate in educational and mentoring sessions. At graduation the juveniles receive documentation that their charges have been dismissed. Over 70% of those completing the program do not re-offend within six months. The success of the program is due to the cooperation of the local police department, the state's attorney, and committed members of the community working together for the redemption of the youth. http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/illinois/news/program-aims-to-curb-metro-east-youth-from-repeating-crimes/article_7623dacd-8425-5ec5-8a60-6f4fda5b2d04.html
Details of one church's involvement in the diversion program can be found at the following link: http://gatewayfamilychurch.com/ministries/juvenile-diversion-program/
The program dovetails with another pilot program that came to the Metro East in 2004, Redeploy Illinois. Working on the front end of youth incarceration, Redeploy Illinois provides services like mental health and substance abuse treatment, life skills education and family therapy to at-risk youth. In its first four years, Redeploy Illinois kept 382 adolescents out of detention centers statewide. One hundred fifty three of those were from St. Clair County. The program spread to Madison County in 2009. Madison County Associate Judge Janet Heflin said it's dramatically reduced youth recidivism. Read this article. http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/illinois/news/program-aims-to-curb-metro-east-youth-from-repeating-crimes/article_7623dacd-8425-5ec5-8a60-6f4fda5b2d04.html
The Redeploy Illinois program grants funds to counties or groups of counties that will establish a continuum of local, community-based sanctions and treatment alternatives for juvenile offenders who would otherwise be incarcerated if those local services and sanctions were not available. This website gives statistics of the program: http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=31991
Graduated Income Tax Revisited by Joyce Geiler
Two years ago the Kingdom Congress convened a session to deal with the issue of graduated income tax. Papers were presented and declarations were made regarding this issue that threatened Illinois. Once again a proposal for graduated income tax has been presented in the Illinois House. This article will examine the proposal then summarize the position taken by the Kingdom Congress in 2014.
The current push for a progressive income tax is precipitated by the state budget crisis. While the proposal is estimated to bring in another $1.9 billion for the state, it would not come close to balancing the state budget. The budget that Democrats sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner last year, most of which Rauner vetoed, was $4 billion out of balance. Rauner’s own budget was more than $3 billion out of balance.
Illinois is one of only a handful of states whose constitution specifies a flat income tax, which means that all income levels are taxed at the same rate. Currently only eight states administer income tax on a flat-rate basis. Illinois’ rate is third-lowest. The 33 other states that have income tax have progressive systems. The Illinois Constitution, ratified in 1970, requires that any state income tax be applied at the same rate to all taxpayers (a flat tax). Illinois' State Constitution would have to be amended to allow a progressive (graduated) income tax.
Paving the pathway for a change to progressive tax would require a two-pronged approach. Toward that end, the sponsors of two pieces of legislation say their plans would bring tax relief to 99.3 percent of all taxpayers while bringing in $1.9 billion more than the current 3.75 percent personal income tax rate. Proponents of a progressive tax system refer to it as a “fair tax” because it taxes people based on their ability to pay. Opponents say it penalizes success and will spur an exodus of high income-earners.
Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang (D-Skokie) has filed legislation, House Bill 689, that would reform the Illinois tax code. His bill outlines tax brackets ranging from 3.5 percent to 9.75 percent depending on the income and filing status of an individual taxpayer. Lang’s bill works in tandem with State Rep. Christian Mitchell’s (D-Chicago) Constitutional Amendment resolution, HJRCA-59, which would allow Illinois voters to choose to reform our tax code by voting for "fair tax" where lower rates apply to lower incomes and higher rates apply to higher incomes. Mitchell’s Constitutional amendment merely removes a few words from the state constitution to allow a graduated-rate income tax. (“A tax on or measured by income may be imposed by law” replaces the current, “A tax on or measured by income shall be at a non-graduated rate.”) State Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) is Chief Sponsor of the Fair Tax in the Senate.
However, these proposed bills are not a done deal. Republicans are very much against changing the flat rate tax. Democrats will need to muster the three-fifths majorities in the House and Senate on their own to get the question of a constitutional amendment before voters on Nov. 8. That won’t be a problem in the Senate, where Democrats hold 39 seats, three more than the required 36, and all Democratic members are likely to embrace the amendment. But in the House, where all 71 Democrats need to vote for the amendment to get it passed, Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo), says he will not support it. Lang’s bill is contingent on voters on Nov. 8 approving a constitutional amendment to allow a progressive tax structure. If the constitutional amendment doesn’t make it onto the ballot or if voters reject it at the polls, Lang’s bill is meaningless. In summary, the two-pronged approach to obtaining a graduated income tax consists first, of the passage of Representative Mitchell's bill to allow a graduated tax and second, passage of Representative Lang's bill to specify the details of such a tax.
Lang proposes four tax brackets for taxpayers who are married and who are filing a joint return. A net income of $200,000 or less would be taxed at 3.5%. Net income more than $200,000 but less than $750,000 would be taxed at 3.75%. The income cut-off for the next bracket of 8.75% would be $1,500,000. For net income over $1,500,000 the tax would be 9.75%. Other categories of taxpayers would have comparable brackets.
With this proposal, most taxpayers would see a tax cut and the brunt of the tax burden would be borne by higher income citizens. Opponents warn that changing the constitution to allow progressive rates does not lock in Lang’s plan. If the constitution is changed, they say, there is nothing to stop lawmakers from adjusting the brackets in the future in ways that could have more taxpayers paying more. According to David From, Illinois State Director of Americans for Prosperity, “Lang’s proposal is more about the election year politics we’ve seen on display across the nation. However, punishing job creators is not the answer to moving Illinois in the right direction, nor is removing legislative barriers that prevent continual tax hikes by a General Assembly that has an addiction to tax dollars.” From also reminds taxpayers that Tax Freedom Day is the day when the entire country has worked enough just to pay off its total tax bill for the year. Collectively, Americans will spend more on taxes this year than they will on housing, clothing and food combined. This year, Illinois’ Tax Freedom Day falls on April 29th, earning the state a ranking of 26 out of all 50 states in total tax burden, with #1 being the lowest. Read more here.
Illinois Policy.org explains that originally Illinois didn’t have an income tax. When the Illinois Constitution was written in 1870, it did not directly authorize the state to tax income. In 1932, Illinois approved its first income tax – a progressive income tax, which taxed income at ever-increasing rates. But the Illinois Supreme Court immediately voided the progressive income tax, ruling that an income tax in itself was unconstitutional. Graduated rates also violated the rule of uniformity in the state constitution’s revenue article.
Political leadership in Illinois ramped up their efforts to pass an income tax again in the 1960s. Then-Republican Gov. Richard Ogilvie proposed a 4 percent flat rate tax on personal and corporate income. On July 1, 1969, a flat-rate income tax was signed into law with a 2.5 percent flat rate applied to individuals and a 4 percent flat rate applied to corporations. All income was taxed, including pensions until 1984 when retirement income was exempted.
Although the 1970 Illinois Constitution allowed the state to levy a tax on income, it strictly prohibited a graduated, or progressive, income tax. The 1970 Constitution also established limits on the difference between the personal income tax rate and the corporate income tax rate. Specifically, the corporate income tax rate is not allowed to exceed the personal income tax rate by more than a ratio of 8 to 5. That means that for every 1 percent of personal income tax, the state can apply a 1.6 percent tax on corporate income. More information here.
Currently, Illinois retirement income is not taxed by the state. However, some are trying to place that possibility on the table. Of those proposing a retirement income tax, most agree that income below $50,000 would be exempt and some say social security would be exempt. People can begin drawing income from 401Ks, IRA’s and other retirement sources before they hit 65 allowing the potential for income to be greater than the $50,000. By some estimates a retirement tax could generate $2 billion or more annually.
The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA) was formed in 2000 to be a bipartisan, nonprofit research and advocacy think tank that works across ideological lines to promote social and economic justice for everyone. The CTBA describes its plan to tax some retirement income as a graduated tax, with retirement income between $50,000-$75,000 taxed at 25 percent of whatever the regular income tax rate is at the time; income $75,000-$100,000 at 50 percent and income $100,000-$150,000 at 75 percent. The center estimates this structure at a 5 percent tax rate would mean $1.1 billion in extra revenue annually. Although the current Illinois Constitution forbids graduated tax, CTBA budget director Bobby Otter counters that the tax could be implemented without an amendment. “Our proposal would be structured so that our most vulnerable retirees would receive a tax credit based upon their income,” after paying the full tax rate, Otter said – hence the tax would not technically be a graduated one. Except where noted, material for this article comes from Reboot Illinois.
From an economic and political viewpoint, it's unlikely that an amendment allowing graduated income tax will happen. The Biblical Resolution Concerning Graduated Income Tax issued by the Kingdom Congress two years ago expressed the following positions. "We the citizens of the Kingdom Congress in order to apply God's eternal principles, limit boundary violations, and empower legitimate stewardship, do hereby declare that a flat percentage tax, which cumulative effect shall not exceed the biblical tithe, may be levied upon personal gross income and business revenue and may be duly collected by civil authorities for the purpose of the common defense, the general welfare, payment of debts, and administrative expense of government. The biblical limitation of the civil government sphere regarding taxes mandates that the government shall not levy taxes in excess of God's tithe, impose a graduated tax, pass laws that tax property, inheritance, or sales, or pass laws that exempt special interest groups or specific products. Establishing a graduated income tax adopts fiscal policies that result in a redistribution of wealth, a covetous society, economic engineering, disincentive for productivity, robbing from legitimate heirs, rewarding the slothful and sheltering society from the tutorial aspects of sowing and reaping." For the specific context of these statements and supporting scripture references find the Biblical Resolution Concerning Graduated Income Tax at http://www.kingdomcongress.com/k-c-documents--decrees.html
Two years ago the Kingdom Congress convened a session to deal with the issue of graduated income tax. Papers were presented and declarations were made regarding this issue that threatened Illinois. Once again a proposal for graduated income tax has been presented in the Illinois House. This article will examine the proposal then summarize the position taken by the Kingdom Congress in 2014.
The current push for a progressive income tax is precipitated by the state budget crisis. While the proposal is estimated to bring in another $1.9 billion for the state, it would not come close to balancing the state budget. The budget that Democrats sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner last year, most of which Rauner vetoed, was $4 billion out of balance. Rauner’s own budget was more than $3 billion out of balance.
Illinois is one of only a handful of states whose constitution specifies a flat income tax, which means that all income levels are taxed at the same rate. Currently only eight states administer income tax on a flat-rate basis. Illinois’ rate is third-lowest. The 33 other states that have income tax have progressive systems. The Illinois Constitution, ratified in 1970, requires that any state income tax be applied at the same rate to all taxpayers (a flat tax). Illinois' State Constitution would have to be amended to allow a progressive (graduated) income tax.
Paving the pathway for a change to progressive tax would require a two-pronged approach. Toward that end, the sponsors of two pieces of legislation say their plans would bring tax relief to 99.3 percent of all taxpayers while bringing in $1.9 billion more than the current 3.75 percent personal income tax rate. Proponents of a progressive tax system refer to it as a “fair tax” because it taxes people based on their ability to pay. Opponents say it penalizes success and will spur an exodus of high income-earners.
Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang (D-Skokie) has filed legislation, House Bill 689, that would reform the Illinois tax code. His bill outlines tax brackets ranging from 3.5 percent to 9.75 percent depending on the income and filing status of an individual taxpayer. Lang’s bill works in tandem with State Rep. Christian Mitchell’s (D-Chicago) Constitutional Amendment resolution, HJRCA-59, which would allow Illinois voters to choose to reform our tax code by voting for "fair tax" where lower rates apply to lower incomes and higher rates apply to higher incomes. Mitchell’s Constitutional amendment merely removes a few words from the state constitution to allow a graduated-rate income tax. (“A tax on or measured by income may be imposed by law” replaces the current, “A tax on or measured by income shall be at a non-graduated rate.”) State Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) is Chief Sponsor of the Fair Tax in the Senate.
However, these proposed bills are not a done deal. Republicans are very much against changing the flat rate tax. Democrats will need to muster the three-fifths majorities in the House and Senate on their own to get the question of a constitutional amendment before voters on Nov. 8. That won’t be a problem in the Senate, where Democrats hold 39 seats, three more than the required 36, and all Democratic members are likely to embrace the amendment. But in the House, where all 71 Democrats need to vote for the amendment to get it passed, Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo), says he will not support it. Lang’s bill is contingent on voters on Nov. 8 approving a constitutional amendment to allow a progressive tax structure. If the constitutional amendment doesn’t make it onto the ballot or if voters reject it at the polls, Lang’s bill is meaningless. In summary, the two-pronged approach to obtaining a graduated income tax consists first, of the passage of Representative Mitchell's bill to allow a graduated tax and second, passage of Representative Lang's bill to specify the details of such a tax.
Lang proposes four tax brackets for taxpayers who are married and who are filing a joint return. A net income of $200,000 or less would be taxed at 3.5%. Net income more than $200,000 but less than $750,000 would be taxed at 3.75%. The income cut-off for the next bracket of 8.75% would be $1,500,000. For net income over $1,500,000 the tax would be 9.75%. Other categories of taxpayers would have comparable brackets.
With this proposal, most taxpayers would see a tax cut and the brunt of the tax burden would be borne by higher income citizens. Opponents warn that changing the constitution to allow progressive rates does not lock in Lang’s plan. If the constitution is changed, they say, there is nothing to stop lawmakers from adjusting the brackets in the future in ways that could have more taxpayers paying more. According to David From, Illinois State Director of Americans for Prosperity, “Lang’s proposal is more about the election year politics we’ve seen on display across the nation. However, punishing job creators is not the answer to moving Illinois in the right direction, nor is removing legislative barriers that prevent continual tax hikes by a General Assembly that has an addiction to tax dollars.” From also reminds taxpayers that Tax Freedom Day is the day when the entire country has worked enough just to pay off its total tax bill for the year. Collectively, Americans will spend more on taxes this year than they will on housing, clothing and food combined. This year, Illinois’ Tax Freedom Day falls on April 29th, earning the state a ranking of 26 out of all 50 states in total tax burden, with #1 being the lowest. Read more here.
Illinois Policy.org explains that originally Illinois didn’t have an income tax. When the Illinois Constitution was written in 1870, it did not directly authorize the state to tax income. In 1932, Illinois approved its first income tax – a progressive income tax, which taxed income at ever-increasing rates. But the Illinois Supreme Court immediately voided the progressive income tax, ruling that an income tax in itself was unconstitutional. Graduated rates also violated the rule of uniformity in the state constitution’s revenue article.
Political leadership in Illinois ramped up their efforts to pass an income tax again in the 1960s. Then-Republican Gov. Richard Ogilvie proposed a 4 percent flat rate tax on personal and corporate income. On July 1, 1969, a flat-rate income tax was signed into law with a 2.5 percent flat rate applied to individuals and a 4 percent flat rate applied to corporations. All income was taxed, including pensions until 1984 when retirement income was exempted.
Although the 1970 Illinois Constitution allowed the state to levy a tax on income, it strictly prohibited a graduated, or progressive, income tax. The 1970 Constitution also established limits on the difference between the personal income tax rate and the corporate income tax rate. Specifically, the corporate income tax rate is not allowed to exceed the personal income tax rate by more than a ratio of 8 to 5. That means that for every 1 percent of personal income tax, the state can apply a 1.6 percent tax on corporate income. More information here.
Currently, Illinois retirement income is not taxed by the state. However, some are trying to place that possibility on the table. Of those proposing a retirement income tax, most agree that income below $50,000 would be exempt and some say social security would be exempt. People can begin drawing income from 401Ks, IRA’s and other retirement sources before they hit 65 allowing the potential for income to be greater than the $50,000. By some estimates a retirement tax could generate $2 billion or more annually.
The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA) was formed in 2000 to be a bipartisan, nonprofit research and advocacy think tank that works across ideological lines to promote social and economic justice for everyone. The CTBA describes its plan to tax some retirement income as a graduated tax, with retirement income between $50,000-$75,000 taxed at 25 percent of whatever the regular income tax rate is at the time; income $75,000-$100,000 at 50 percent and income $100,000-$150,000 at 75 percent. The center estimates this structure at a 5 percent tax rate would mean $1.1 billion in extra revenue annually. Although the current Illinois Constitution forbids graduated tax, CTBA budget director Bobby Otter counters that the tax could be implemented without an amendment. “Our proposal would be structured so that our most vulnerable retirees would receive a tax credit based upon their income,” after paying the full tax rate, Otter said – hence the tax would not technically be a graduated one. Except where noted, material for this article comes from Reboot Illinois.
From an economic and political viewpoint, it's unlikely that an amendment allowing graduated income tax will happen. The Biblical Resolution Concerning Graduated Income Tax issued by the Kingdom Congress two years ago expressed the following positions. "We the citizens of the Kingdom Congress in order to apply God's eternal principles, limit boundary violations, and empower legitimate stewardship, do hereby declare that a flat percentage tax, which cumulative effect shall not exceed the biblical tithe, may be levied upon personal gross income and business revenue and may be duly collected by civil authorities for the purpose of the common defense, the general welfare, payment of debts, and administrative expense of government. The biblical limitation of the civil government sphere regarding taxes mandates that the government shall not levy taxes in excess of God's tithe, impose a graduated tax, pass laws that tax property, inheritance, or sales, or pass laws that exempt special interest groups or specific products. Establishing a graduated income tax adopts fiscal policies that result in a redistribution of wealth, a covetous society, economic engineering, disincentive for productivity, robbing from legitimate heirs, rewarding the slothful and sheltering society from the tutorial aspects of sowing and reaping." For the specific context of these statements and supporting scripture references find the Biblical Resolution Concerning Graduated Income Tax at http://www.kingdomcongress.com/k-c-documents--decrees.html
Farm Subsidies and Economic Engineering by Joyce Geiler
A simple definition of economic engineering is the practice of making laws or using other methods to influence public opinion and solve economic problems or improve economic conditions. Rather than let normal supply and demand and other basic economic principles have their natural consequences, government or even the media exerts influence to move the economy in a particular direction. Farm subsidies are a form of economic engineering.
While there are several types of farm subsidies, this article focuses on crop insurance.
Federal crop insurance began after the 1930s Dust Bowl left farmers impoverished, however few farmers participated in the program until 1980 when the government began paying about one-third of the farmer's premiums. Then in 2000, the U.S. Congress made the subsidies more generous so that farmers now pay only about 38% of their crop insurance bills. Farmers choose from a menu of insurance options and insurers are obliged by law to cover all who apply. Some policies protect as much as 85% of a farm's average yield. More than seven in ten policies guarantee income rather than yield. Critics say crop insurance, which was intended to safeguard farmers from natural disasters, has mutated into an income support mechanism that almost eliminates risk from agriculture. When the drought of 2012 drove corn prices to record highs, farmers with “harvest price option” policies were paid those inflated prices for poorly performing crops -- contributing to a record bill for taxpayers and record income for farmers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-09-09/farmers-boost-revenue-sowing-subsidies-for-crop-insurance
Farm income doubled from 2009 to 2013. In 2011, the median income of commercial farm households -- those deriving more than half their income from farming -- was $84,649, almost 70 percent higher than that of the typical American household.
Farm equity (assets) ended 2012 at $2.5 trillion, up 37 percent since the start of the recession in December 2007 -- compared with a less than 1 percent gain in net worth for all U.S. households over the same period. This article is not contesting the success of farmers, nor is it saying that all farmers fit into these statistics. But the question that is posed is whether taxpayers should continue to finance payments for a business sector that is more than capable of thriving on its own.
The bottom 10 % of farms are making less than $30,000 and are the ones who are not large enough for subsides to help since the amount of subsidy depends on the amount of income expected to be generated. In other words, farm subsidies help large farms, not smaller ones. The farm subsidy system for insurance has created “unintended consequences” by encouraging overproduction and driving up land prices, concludes a 120-page report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Highly efficient commercial farms benefit enormously from price supports, enabling them to expand their operations and lower costs even more,” the report says. “Other farms have not received enough benefits to remain viable and have been absorbed along the way.”
Farm program benefits go to just 40 % of farms nationwide. Almost half of the federal money goes to the nation’s largest farms with an average household income of $135,000 a year. In Illinois, 10 % of farm aid recipients collected 60 % of the funds in the past five years, according to a recent analysis of government farm subsidy data by the Environmental Working Group. Even nonfarmers can harvest crop subsidies if they hold title to the land. That’s how media mogul Ted Turner, basketball player Scottie Pippen, the University of Illinois and Caterpillar Inc. make the recipients list. http://illinoisissues-archive.uis.edu/features/2001nov/subsidies.html
Despite the common notion that family farms have fallen on tough times and been pushed out by big agribusinesses, tens of thousands of families in the United States actually run multi-million dollar farming operations that produce the majority of the nation's food.
While there are many more small farms that struggle to make ends meet, and million-dollar independent farms aren't the norm, these slightly larger farms have been able to take advantage of their size, more advanced technologies and the recent commodity boom to become very successful small businesses. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 50,000 farms nationwide have gross sales of over a million dollars a year. Farms with sales of over $250,000 a year and large-scale commercial farms represent 10% of the country's farms but account for 82% of its overall food production. "People, on average, that are running large commercial farms are making substantial amounts of money," said Jim MacDonald, an economist at USDA, noting that their average household income is over $200,000 a year.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/27/news/economy/farming/
The government provides a basic 50% catastrophic coverage to farmers at no cost to the farmer. However, farmers can upgrade their coverage by purchasing additional insurance through crop insurance companies with about 62 % of the cost being subsidized. One farmer in South Dakota farms about 3,400 acres of corn and soybeans with his brothers and sons. He says he paid about $70,000 to $80,000 in crop insurance premiums last year. The taxpayers paid even more -- since an average of almost two-thirds of premium costs are paid by the government. The farmer noted that subsidized insurance also gives farmers an incentive to plant on land where crops may or may not flourish, adding that he knew individuals in his state who are “farming the program” with the intent of making an insurance claim rather than harvesting a crop. “You’re going to see a lot of unproductive land brought into production because the taxpayer will cover the losses from all these riskless decisions, although theoretically, participating farmers must comply with good farming practices and are not reimbursed for losses due to negligence.”`
In 2011, the latest year for which data is available, 26 farmers each got annual subsidies of more than $1 million; more than 10,000 received $100,000 or more in subsidies. One grower of tomatoes and peppers in Florida received a subsidy of $1.9 million, according to the Environmental Working Group. There is no cap on premium subsidies. Congress has barred the USDA from revealing the identities of payout recipients so it is not possible to say what particular farmers in Illinois benefited; but the Environmental Working Group's data shows that Illinois received the fifth highest amount of federal crop insurance premium subsidies from 1995-2014. The state ranks 7th in the U.S. in total agricultural sales ($17.2 billion), but ranks 3rd when considering only the sale of crops such as corn and soybeans, which in 2012 covered over 95 percent of Illinois’ cropland. Illinois farmers produce between 15 and 20 percent of the U.S. total combined corn/soy crop annually. http://news.aag.org/2014/08/illinois-agriculture/
Based on the research presented, it appears that farm subsidies have economically engineered the growth of larger farms, including more corporate farms, while contributing to the decline of smaller family farms.
No doubt about it, farming is risky business, but so are other businesses. Do ski resorts have subsidized insurance in case there is no snow? Do families receive subsidies for life insurance, car insurance, rental insurance, or house insurance? Insurance is worthwhile and can be the difference between devastation and survival. The federal government provides subsidies for farm insurance as well as some health insurance. Is it the biblical role of government to subsidize certain insurance premiums?
A simple definition of economic engineering is the practice of making laws or using other methods to influence public opinion and solve economic problems or improve economic conditions. Rather than let normal supply and demand and other basic economic principles have their natural consequences, government or even the media exerts influence to move the economy in a particular direction. Farm subsidies are a form of economic engineering.
While there are several types of farm subsidies, this article focuses on crop insurance.
Federal crop insurance began after the 1930s Dust Bowl left farmers impoverished, however few farmers participated in the program until 1980 when the government began paying about one-third of the farmer's premiums. Then in 2000, the U.S. Congress made the subsidies more generous so that farmers now pay only about 38% of their crop insurance bills. Farmers choose from a menu of insurance options and insurers are obliged by law to cover all who apply. Some policies protect as much as 85% of a farm's average yield. More than seven in ten policies guarantee income rather than yield. Critics say crop insurance, which was intended to safeguard farmers from natural disasters, has mutated into an income support mechanism that almost eliminates risk from agriculture. When the drought of 2012 drove corn prices to record highs, farmers with “harvest price option” policies were paid those inflated prices for poorly performing crops -- contributing to a record bill for taxpayers and record income for farmers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-09-09/farmers-boost-revenue-sowing-subsidies-for-crop-insurance
Farm income doubled from 2009 to 2013. In 2011, the median income of commercial farm households -- those deriving more than half their income from farming -- was $84,649, almost 70 percent higher than that of the typical American household.
Farm equity (assets) ended 2012 at $2.5 trillion, up 37 percent since the start of the recession in December 2007 -- compared with a less than 1 percent gain in net worth for all U.S. households over the same period. This article is not contesting the success of farmers, nor is it saying that all farmers fit into these statistics. But the question that is posed is whether taxpayers should continue to finance payments for a business sector that is more than capable of thriving on its own.
The bottom 10 % of farms are making less than $30,000 and are the ones who are not large enough for subsides to help since the amount of subsidy depends on the amount of income expected to be generated. In other words, farm subsidies help large farms, not smaller ones. The farm subsidy system for insurance has created “unintended consequences” by encouraging overproduction and driving up land prices, concludes a 120-page report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Highly efficient commercial farms benefit enormously from price supports, enabling them to expand their operations and lower costs even more,” the report says. “Other farms have not received enough benefits to remain viable and have been absorbed along the way.”
Farm program benefits go to just 40 % of farms nationwide. Almost half of the federal money goes to the nation’s largest farms with an average household income of $135,000 a year. In Illinois, 10 % of farm aid recipients collected 60 % of the funds in the past five years, according to a recent analysis of government farm subsidy data by the Environmental Working Group. Even nonfarmers can harvest crop subsidies if they hold title to the land. That’s how media mogul Ted Turner, basketball player Scottie Pippen, the University of Illinois and Caterpillar Inc. make the recipients list. http://illinoisissues-archive.uis.edu/features/2001nov/subsidies.html
Despite the common notion that family farms have fallen on tough times and been pushed out by big agribusinesses, tens of thousands of families in the United States actually run multi-million dollar farming operations that produce the majority of the nation's food.
While there are many more small farms that struggle to make ends meet, and million-dollar independent farms aren't the norm, these slightly larger farms have been able to take advantage of their size, more advanced technologies and the recent commodity boom to become very successful small businesses. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 50,000 farms nationwide have gross sales of over a million dollars a year. Farms with sales of over $250,000 a year and large-scale commercial farms represent 10% of the country's farms but account for 82% of its overall food production. "People, on average, that are running large commercial farms are making substantial amounts of money," said Jim MacDonald, an economist at USDA, noting that their average household income is over $200,000 a year.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/27/news/economy/farming/
The government provides a basic 50% catastrophic coverage to farmers at no cost to the farmer. However, farmers can upgrade their coverage by purchasing additional insurance through crop insurance companies with about 62 % of the cost being subsidized. One farmer in South Dakota farms about 3,400 acres of corn and soybeans with his brothers and sons. He says he paid about $70,000 to $80,000 in crop insurance premiums last year. The taxpayers paid even more -- since an average of almost two-thirds of premium costs are paid by the government. The farmer noted that subsidized insurance also gives farmers an incentive to plant on land where crops may or may not flourish, adding that he knew individuals in his state who are “farming the program” with the intent of making an insurance claim rather than harvesting a crop. “You’re going to see a lot of unproductive land brought into production because the taxpayer will cover the losses from all these riskless decisions, although theoretically, participating farmers must comply with good farming practices and are not reimbursed for losses due to negligence.”`
In 2011, the latest year for which data is available, 26 farmers each got annual subsidies of more than $1 million; more than 10,000 received $100,000 or more in subsidies. One grower of tomatoes and peppers in Florida received a subsidy of $1.9 million, according to the Environmental Working Group. There is no cap on premium subsidies. Congress has barred the USDA from revealing the identities of payout recipients so it is not possible to say what particular farmers in Illinois benefited; but the Environmental Working Group's data shows that Illinois received the fifth highest amount of federal crop insurance premium subsidies from 1995-2014. The state ranks 7th in the U.S. in total agricultural sales ($17.2 billion), but ranks 3rd when considering only the sale of crops such as corn and soybeans, which in 2012 covered over 95 percent of Illinois’ cropland. Illinois farmers produce between 15 and 20 percent of the U.S. total combined corn/soy crop annually. http://news.aag.org/2014/08/illinois-agriculture/
Based on the research presented, it appears that farm subsidies have economically engineered the growth of larger farms, including more corporate farms, while contributing to the decline of smaller family farms.
No doubt about it, farming is risky business, but so are other businesses. Do ski resorts have subsidized insurance in case there is no snow? Do families receive subsidies for life insurance, car insurance, rental insurance, or house insurance? Insurance is worthwhile and can be the difference between devastation and survival. The federal government provides subsidies for farm insurance as well as some health insurance. Is it the biblical role of government to subsidize certain insurance premiums?
Millionaires in Illinois by Joyce Geiler
More millionaires left Chicago last year than any other city in the United States according to a report by New World Wealth, a research firm that provides information on the wealth sector. The firm found Chicago had a net loss of nearly 3,000 millionaires, or individuals with at least $1 million in net assets (excluding their primary residence), which accounted for 2 percent of the city’s 134,000 high net worth residents. Globally, Chicago ranked third of the four cities with the largest outflow of millionaires. Paris lost 7000 millionaires, Rome lost 5,000 and Athens lost 2,000. The reasons for the outflow were different for each of those cities, but the reason given for leaving Chicago was not taxes but mounting racial tensions and an increase in crime.
A Nielsen study released last year that showed many wealthy black Chicagoans are among those leaving the city. The study found that the Chicago area has fallen out of the top echelon of U.S. cities when it comes to the percentage of black households earning more than $100,000. In 2000, Chicago ranked seventh among the cities with the largest percentage of black households with income at that level or higher, but in 2015, Chicago had dropped out of the top 10. Most of the millionaires leaving Chicago moved to other cities in the United States with Seattle and San Francisco being the U.S. cities that have seen the largest inflow of millionaires.
On a global level, the countries of France, China, Italy, India, Greece, Russia, Spain and Brazil lost the most individuals with more than $1 million in net assets. Conversely, Australia ranked No. 1 out of countries with the largest inflow of millionaires (8,000), followed by the U.S. (7,000); Canada (5,000); Israel (4,000), United Arab Emirates (3,000); and New Zealand (2,000). Again, millionaires may be moving out of Chicago, but they are not moving out of the United States.
Why does it matter that millionaires leave a city? Since millionaires have the means to leave easily, they are often the first people to leave an area, signaling bad times. When millionaires leave an area, they take large amounts of money with them and that negatively impacts the local currency, local stock market and local property market.
Millionaires employ large numbers of people - around 30% to 40% of millionaires are business owners. The large amount of money millionaires spend on local goods and services and the large amount they pay in income tax is lost to the area. Millionaires are resilient to economic downturns and can keep an economy going during tough times so their absence reduces the potential for the economy to recover. They are normally highly skilled and highly educated and take their innovations with them.
Learn more here.
The exodus of millionaires from Chicago is not all bad news. Illinois still ranks No. 20 (basically in the middle) in the nation for the number of millionaires per capita, according to a new report by Phoenix Marketing International’s Global Wealth Monitor. While Illinois’ ratio is near the middle of all the states, the Land of Lincoln has the fifth most millionaire households in the nation, increasing by 13,796 from 2014 to 280,266 in 2015. That’s nearly 38,000 more households with more than $1 million in investable assets than there were in 2010, according to this report.
http://www.rebootillinois.com/2016/01/26/whats-hot/kevin-hoffmanrebootillinois-com/report-illinois-sees-big-spike-in-number-of-millionaire-households/51953/
The complete report on Millionaire Migration in 2015 can be found here.
More millionaires left Chicago last year than any other city in the United States according to a report by New World Wealth, a research firm that provides information on the wealth sector. The firm found Chicago had a net loss of nearly 3,000 millionaires, or individuals with at least $1 million in net assets (excluding their primary residence), which accounted for 2 percent of the city’s 134,000 high net worth residents. Globally, Chicago ranked third of the four cities with the largest outflow of millionaires. Paris lost 7000 millionaires, Rome lost 5,000 and Athens lost 2,000. The reasons for the outflow were different for each of those cities, but the reason given for leaving Chicago was not taxes but mounting racial tensions and an increase in crime.
A Nielsen study released last year that showed many wealthy black Chicagoans are among those leaving the city. The study found that the Chicago area has fallen out of the top echelon of U.S. cities when it comes to the percentage of black households earning more than $100,000. In 2000, Chicago ranked seventh among the cities with the largest percentage of black households with income at that level or higher, but in 2015, Chicago had dropped out of the top 10. Most of the millionaires leaving Chicago moved to other cities in the United States with Seattle and San Francisco being the U.S. cities that have seen the largest inflow of millionaires.
On a global level, the countries of France, China, Italy, India, Greece, Russia, Spain and Brazil lost the most individuals with more than $1 million in net assets. Conversely, Australia ranked No. 1 out of countries with the largest inflow of millionaires (8,000), followed by the U.S. (7,000); Canada (5,000); Israel (4,000), United Arab Emirates (3,000); and New Zealand (2,000). Again, millionaires may be moving out of Chicago, but they are not moving out of the United States.
Why does it matter that millionaires leave a city? Since millionaires have the means to leave easily, they are often the first people to leave an area, signaling bad times. When millionaires leave an area, they take large amounts of money with them and that negatively impacts the local currency, local stock market and local property market.
Millionaires employ large numbers of people - around 30% to 40% of millionaires are business owners. The large amount of money millionaires spend on local goods and services and the large amount they pay in income tax is lost to the area. Millionaires are resilient to economic downturns and can keep an economy going during tough times so their absence reduces the potential for the economy to recover. They are normally highly skilled and highly educated and take their innovations with them.
Learn more here.
The exodus of millionaires from Chicago is not all bad news. Illinois still ranks No. 20 (basically in the middle) in the nation for the number of millionaires per capita, according to a new report by Phoenix Marketing International’s Global Wealth Monitor. While Illinois’ ratio is near the middle of all the states, the Land of Lincoln has the fifth most millionaire households in the nation, increasing by 13,796 from 2014 to 280,266 in 2015. That’s nearly 38,000 more households with more than $1 million in investable assets than there were in 2010, according to this report.
http://www.rebootillinois.com/2016/01/26/whats-hot/kevin-hoffmanrebootillinois-com/report-illinois-sees-big-spike-in-number-of-millionaire-households/51953/
The complete report on Millionaire Migration in 2015 can be found here.
District Map Making in Illinois by Joyce Geiler
The district map-making in Illinois keeps changing to ensure current people stay in power. Every ten years, after the Federal census, Illinois district maps are redrawn to reflect the changing population. The process used by Illinois, however, has promoted the status quo and made it nearly impossible to change the political climate in Illinois even when the voters try.
One proposed solution is to institute term limits. Michael Madigan has been in the General Assembly for 44 years and has been Speaker of the House for all but two of those years since 1983. Some people propose term limits as a way to stop what almost seems like tyranny. A downstate Senator, Kyle McCarter, even limited his senatorial service to two terms in accordance with his promise. A Paul Simon Public Policy Institute survey showed respondents overwhelmingly favor term limits for members of the Illinois General Assembly. Nearly 80 percent favor some form of term limits for senators and representatives with 82 percent in favor of limiting the time lawmakers can serve in leadership positions.
However, a term limits effort backed by Bruce Rauner when he was campaigning for governor, contains a lot more than just limiting senators and representatives to eight years in office. It also would reduce the Illinois Senate from 59 to 43 members and increase House membership from 118 to 123. The amendment he proposed sought to raise the threshold for overriding a governor’s veto from the current three-fifths vote to two-thirds. A solution other than term limits that could give voters legislative districts that are not manipulated to the maximum benefit of the party that draws the map is possible.
Most people have no idea how the legislative district in which they live was created; who drew the boundaries for the Illinois House and Senate districts in which they reside? Legislative districts for the 177 members of the Illinois General Assembly are redrawn every 10 years after the U.S. census. Democrats controlled the map-drawing process in 1981, 2001, and 2011. Republicans drew the map in 1991. The only 2 years since 1983 that Rep. Michael Madigan was not Speaker of the House were January 1995 to January 1997, during the decade of the Republican-drawn map.
The creative redrawing of district maps has been called "gerrymandering". It's not a new concept. The term came into use in 1812 when the political party in power at the time redistricted the state of Massachusetts. The name of the governor at the time, E. Gerry, was used for the first part of the word: gerrymandering. The second part of the word comes from salamander, because after the redistricting of Essex County, Massachusetts was said to resemble that animal.
Personality, individual ambition, and policy issues have often affected reapportionment (redistricting) debates. The final redistricting outcome in Illinois has usually been the result of three conflicting historic themes: territory vs. population, geography vs. party, and incumbent vs. challenger.
Territory vs. Population
The dramatic surge in Chicago and Cook County's population tripled its growth from 1870 to 1910, and could have resulted in redistribution favoring those areas. Downstaters blocked any redistricting from 1901 to 1955 in spite of the fact that the 1870 constitution provided for it. Downstate Illinois with its larger territory had successfully been in control even with its rural population. These days Chicago faces similar concerns of loss of power as its population moves to the suburbs. During the mid-1900s, an attempt to use population exclusively to determine House districts and territory exclusively to determine Senate districts was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Finally, in 1955 all sides worked toward successful reapportionment, successful in that it brought about no profound political changes in the state.
Geography vs. Party
From 1870 to 1980, cumulative voting was used to elect members of the state House of Representatives. In 1980, political activist and later Governor, Pat Quinn, advocated a campaign to reduce the number of representatives in the state house through the "Cutback Amendment", which reduced the size of the house by one-third and proposed the single member district system. Previously districts could have more than one Representative. One result of the cutback in House members from 177 to 118 members was that it allowed political party leaders to consolidate power and influence who may run for the state assembly. The complicated, detailed history of the redistricting issue in Illinois can be found here in the pdf Legislative Redistricting in Illinois: A Historical Analysis.
Incumbent vs. Challenger
Self-preservation is a strong human characteristic, especially among Illinois legislators. Creative cartography has no doubt preserved many an incumbent. The incumbent can chop up the opposing party’s geographic strongholds and stick them onto districts where voter affiliation favors his party. Even better, one can using his map-drawing power to exact vengeance on a troublesome lawmaker, whose home can be conveniently placed outside the district he or she represents.
How is Map-making Currently Determined?
Section 3 of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment adopted at general election Nov. 4, 1980, provides that Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population. In the year following the Federal census, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts. If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of that year, a Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be constituted consisting of eight members, no more than four of whom can be of the same political party. Specifics are given for how the members are chosen. (No longer is the governor the one to choose members.) If the Commission fails to file a redistricting plan by August 10, the Supreme Court shall submit two names, not of the same party and by September 5, the Secretary of State shall publically conduct a random draw from those two names for the name of the ninth person on the Commission, who effectively becomes the tie-breaker so that a redistricting plan can be submitted.
Of the five legislative maps drawn since the 1970 constitution went into effect, only two have not ended in a random name being drawn from a hat. The draw has been used in every opportunity except 1971- the first year the new state constitution was in effect - and in 2011, the only post-census year since 1970 that Democrats controlled the governorship, the Illinois House, and the Illinois Senate. In 1981, Republicans controlled the governor's office, the Illinois House, and were just one vote shy of controlling the Illinois Senate. They lost the map-drawing advantage of their power base by the luck of the draw. In 1991, the draw went to the Republicans.
The 1971 map was a true compromise between a Republican governor, a Republican House and a Democratic Senate. The 2011 map was drawn and approved by Democrats, who controlled both chambers and the governor’s office. In the three remaps in between, the parties went all-or-nothing, choosing luck of the draw over compromise. Lost in the process is the interest of the voters who live in the districts that result from this game.
A movement called “Yes for Independent Maps" says it will make the process transparent, independent and nonpartisan. Its proposal is an Illinois constitutional amendment that will change the way redistricting is done. It will be a citizen-led commission, with no politicians, no bureaucrats and no people that get state contracts.
A few years ago, when California voted on a similar independent redistricting amendment, some voiced concerns that the commission would not reflect the diversity of the state. Those worries turned out to be unfounded. Eleven of the fourteen members of the California commission belonged to minority groups (four Asian Americans, three Latinos, two African Americans, one Pacific Islander, and one American Indian). “Yes for Independent Maps” has included diversity provisions. Find out more here about the Independent Map Amendment or to download a petition. Notarized petitions must be mailed by April 21, 2016.
Unless otherwise noted all material in this article can be located at rebootillinois.com.
The district map-making in Illinois keeps changing to ensure current people stay in power. Every ten years, after the Federal census, Illinois district maps are redrawn to reflect the changing population. The process used by Illinois, however, has promoted the status quo and made it nearly impossible to change the political climate in Illinois even when the voters try.
One proposed solution is to institute term limits. Michael Madigan has been in the General Assembly for 44 years and has been Speaker of the House for all but two of those years since 1983. Some people propose term limits as a way to stop what almost seems like tyranny. A downstate Senator, Kyle McCarter, even limited his senatorial service to two terms in accordance with his promise. A Paul Simon Public Policy Institute survey showed respondents overwhelmingly favor term limits for members of the Illinois General Assembly. Nearly 80 percent favor some form of term limits for senators and representatives with 82 percent in favor of limiting the time lawmakers can serve in leadership positions.
However, a term limits effort backed by Bruce Rauner when he was campaigning for governor, contains a lot more than just limiting senators and representatives to eight years in office. It also would reduce the Illinois Senate from 59 to 43 members and increase House membership from 118 to 123. The amendment he proposed sought to raise the threshold for overriding a governor’s veto from the current three-fifths vote to two-thirds. A solution other than term limits that could give voters legislative districts that are not manipulated to the maximum benefit of the party that draws the map is possible.
Most people have no idea how the legislative district in which they live was created; who drew the boundaries for the Illinois House and Senate districts in which they reside? Legislative districts for the 177 members of the Illinois General Assembly are redrawn every 10 years after the U.S. census. Democrats controlled the map-drawing process in 1981, 2001, and 2011. Republicans drew the map in 1991. The only 2 years since 1983 that Rep. Michael Madigan was not Speaker of the House were January 1995 to January 1997, during the decade of the Republican-drawn map.
The creative redrawing of district maps has been called "gerrymandering". It's not a new concept. The term came into use in 1812 when the political party in power at the time redistricted the state of Massachusetts. The name of the governor at the time, E. Gerry, was used for the first part of the word: gerrymandering. The second part of the word comes from salamander, because after the redistricting of Essex County, Massachusetts was said to resemble that animal.
Personality, individual ambition, and policy issues have often affected reapportionment (redistricting) debates. The final redistricting outcome in Illinois has usually been the result of three conflicting historic themes: territory vs. population, geography vs. party, and incumbent vs. challenger.
Territory vs. Population
The dramatic surge in Chicago and Cook County's population tripled its growth from 1870 to 1910, and could have resulted in redistribution favoring those areas. Downstaters blocked any redistricting from 1901 to 1955 in spite of the fact that the 1870 constitution provided for it. Downstate Illinois with its larger territory had successfully been in control even with its rural population. These days Chicago faces similar concerns of loss of power as its population moves to the suburbs. During the mid-1900s, an attempt to use population exclusively to determine House districts and territory exclusively to determine Senate districts was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Finally, in 1955 all sides worked toward successful reapportionment, successful in that it brought about no profound political changes in the state.
Geography vs. Party
From 1870 to 1980, cumulative voting was used to elect members of the state House of Representatives. In 1980, political activist and later Governor, Pat Quinn, advocated a campaign to reduce the number of representatives in the state house through the "Cutback Amendment", which reduced the size of the house by one-third and proposed the single member district system. Previously districts could have more than one Representative. One result of the cutback in House members from 177 to 118 members was that it allowed political party leaders to consolidate power and influence who may run for the state assembly. The complicated, detailed history of the redistricting issue in Illinois can be found here in the pdf Legislative Redistricting in Illinois: A Historical Analysis.
Incumbent vs. Challenger
Self-preservation is a strong human characteristic, especially among Illinois legislators. Creative cartography has no doubt preserved many an incumbent. The incumbent can chop up the opposing party’s geographic strongholds and stick them onto districts where voter affiliation favors his party. Even better, one can using his map-drawing power to exact vengeance on a troublesome lawmaker, whose home can be conveniently placed outside the district he or she represents.
How is Map-making Currently Determined?
Section 3 of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment adopted at general election Nov. 4, 1980, provides that Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population. In the year following the Federal census, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts. If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of that year, a Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be constituted consisting of eight members, no more than four of whom can be of the same political party. Specifics are given for how the members are chosen. (No longer is the governor the one to choose members.) If the Commission fails to file a redistricting plan by August 10, the Supreme Court shall submit two names, not of the same party and by September 5, the Secretary of State shall publically conduct a random draw from those two names for the name of the ninth person on the Commission, who effectively becomes the tie-breaker so that a redistricting plan can be submitted.
Of the five legislative maps drawn since the 1970 constitution went into effect, only two have not ended in a random name being drawn from a hat. The draw has been used in every opportunity except 1971- the first year the new state constitution was in effect - and in 2011, the only post-census year since 1970 that Democrats controlled the governorship, the Illinois House, and the Illinois Senate. In 1981, Republicans controlled the governor's office, the Illinois House, and were just one vote shy of controlling the Illinois Senate. They lost the map-drawing advantage of their power base by the luck of the draw. In 1991, the draw went to the Republicans.
The 1971 map was a true compromise between a Republican governor, a Republican House and a Democratic Senate. The 2011 map was drawn and approved by Democrats, who controlled both chambers and the governor’s office. In the three remaps in between, the parties went all-or-nothing, choosing luck of the draw over compromise. Lost in the process is the interest of the voters who live in the districts that result from this game.
A movement called “Yes for Independent Maps" says it will make the process transparent, independent and nonpartisan. Its proposal is an Illinois constitutional amendment that will change the way redistricting is done. It will be a citizen-led commission, with no politicians, no bureaucrats and no people that get state contracts.
A few years ago, when California voted on a similar independent redistricting amendment, some voiced concerns that the commission would not reflect the diversity of the state. Those worries turned out to be unfounded. Eleven of the fourteen members of the California commission belonged to minority groups (four Asian Americans, three Latinos, two African Americans, one Pacific Islander, and one American Indian). “Yes for Independent Maps” has included diversity provisions. Find out more here about the Independent Map Amendment or to download a petition. Notarized petitions must be mailed by April 21, 2016.
Unless otherwise noted all material in this article can be located at rebootillinois.com.
Property Taxes in Illinois by Joyce Geiler
From north to south and across the breadth of Illinois, various tax referenda were on the ballots this March. Although this article places the focus on property taxes, it will be seen that other Illinois taxes are related.
Property tax is a tax that local governments impose on real estate. It is what's known as an ad valorem tax, which means that it is based on the value of the property. Individuals with a home or land that has a higher value pay more in property taxes, though everyone within a given municipality pays property tax at the same flat percentage rate. Property tax is based on the assessed value of the taxpayer's property. Local governments use the money collected from property taxes for a number of programs. The majority of property tax revenue goes toward funding city and county governments, including meeting payroll for city employees. Property taxes also fund public schools, including local school districts and community colleges. Finally, some property tax revenue ends up funding community improvements such as mass transit construction and maintenance. Each municipality with the power to levy taxes may have the power to impose a separate property tax. This means that homeowners may be liable for property taxes from several municipalities, including the city, county and school district, although local legislation may limit the maximum property taxation rate.
A study by WalletHub shows that the property tax rate in Illinois is the second highest in the nation. WalletHub is a personal finance website based in Washington, D.C. that launched in 2013 (https://wallethub.com) According to the study, the median home value in Illinois is $175,700 and homeowners pay nearly $4,000 in property taxes on a home priced at the median value. That comes out to an effective tax rate of 2.25 percent, which is only .04 percentage points lower than New Jersey’s rate of 2.29 percent — the nation’s highest. Of course, property taxes in Illinois can vary greatly by counties and even within counties, from as low as $500 to more than $15,000 depending on a home’s value and location.
For the second year in a row, WalletHub has pegged Illinois as the worst state to be a taxpayer. The study ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on the effective total state and local tax rate, which is calculated as a percentage of the national median household income of $53,889. (Illinois' median household income is nearly $6000 more.) Four types of taxation are taken into account: property tax, vehicle property tax, income tax, and sales and excise tax. With an effective total state and local tax rate of 14.54 percent, Illinois has the highest tax rate in the nation. But when adjusted for cost of living, Illinois’ rank went from last to No. 43, according to WalletHub. Illinois was the only state to have a combined tax rate greater than 14 percent. It was trailed by Nebraska at 13.85 percent, Wisconsin at 13.58 percent, Connecticut at 13.48 percent, and Rhode Island at 13.46 percent. The five states with the lowest tax rates are Alaska (5.69 percent), Delaware (6.02 percent), Montana (6.92 percent), Wyoming (7.45 percent) and Nevada (7.72 percent). Interestingly, "red" states impose fewer taxes than "blue" states.
As for the four types of taxation WalletHub used to calculate the effective total state and local tax rate, Illinois ranked 50th for property taxes (second highest), 30th for income taxes and 27th for sales and excise taxes. (There’s no vehicle property tax in Illinois.)
In Illinois, property tax revenue is the largest source of funding for public schools, accounting for 66% of school districts’ total revenue. Gov. Bruce Rauner consistently has called for a property tax freeze, pointing to the fact many homeowners over the course of their lifetime will pay more in taxes than what their mortgage is worth. Read more here.
Two locations in Illinois help illustrate the impact of property taxes.
Chicago property tax rates are lower than most of the surrounding suburbs. Chicago business taxes are about 2.5 times more than residential property taxes. In 2015, Chicago property taxes were raised by $588 million (from 1.86% to 2.1%) for police and fire pensions and school construction, but some aldermen wondered why Chicago Mayor Emmanuel didn't raise the taxes even more. They foresaw what has become a reality: the budget stalemate in Springfield has prevented the payments they should have gotten and Chicago has had to use $220 million in “short-term bridge” financing to make police and fire pension payments which, by law, had to be deposited March 1. Interest on the "bridge" financing will cost the taxpayers of Chicago even more. More information here.
Meanwhile, in downstate Bond County, voters approved a one-cent increase in sales tax on certain items. Apparently a majority of voters agreed that the 1.6% tax rate on property in Bond County needed a boost from an increased sales tax. The Greenville Advocate reports that the County School Facility Sales Tax revenue will be dedicated solely for items related to facility improvements, including new school facilities, additions and renovations, land acquisition, safety and security improvements, energy efficiency, paying off building bonds, architectural planning and engineering, and durable equipment. One of the items taxed will be gasoline.
For a chart containing average home values for all 102 counties in Illinois along with average property taxes paid countywide, visit here.
The Tax Policy Center (TPC), a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, is a non-partisan research center based in Washington D.C. The Tax Policy Center looked at property taxes around the country, sorted by county, to find the highest average tax paid by county. Twenty-three Illinois counties were included in their findings. In 2012, six Illinois counties are included in the top 50, but there was only one Illinois county that was in the top 100 for average home prices. That means Illinoisans are paying a higher property tax rate than other places around the country. As one might expect property tax rates are generally higher in more populated areas. Rates also vary depending on school districts. More information available here.
Property taxes are up, but income is down in many Illinois counties. Each year, the U.S. Census Bureau releases updated estimates of poverty and income statistics through its Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates program. The Census Bureau flags counties in which there has been at least a 10 % decrease in income. The link below shows a map and list of the 30 counties in Illinois that were flagged: 19 counties with an 11 to 12% decrease in income, 7 counties with a 13-17% decrease, and 3 counties with a 20-22% decrease. Winnebago, Knox, and Boone counties are #1, #2, and #3, respectively, in magnitude of decrease. The highest concentration of counties with decreased income is in northern Illinois. Although income in many counties in Illinois has declined, Illinois does not have the greatest decline in the US. Learn more here.
Americans for Prosperity Illinois has continued its focus on fighting higher property taxes by joining with taxpayers to defeat 14 local referenda that would have hiked taxes. AFP was active in 29 tax-related referenda throughout Illinois that sought to implement a new tax, raise an existing tax, or issue municipal debt. Eight counties or towns failed to pass a sales tax while sales taxes passed in 12 counties or towns. Property tax increases failed in two elections but passed in one. Details can be found here.
Americans for Prosperity wants to help taxpayers voice their frustration by showing citizens in Illinois how to place a property tax freeze advisory question on the November ballot. Their invitation is "If you are tired of sky-rocketing property taxes, join us to learn more about getting a property tax freeze question on the ballot in your community." Learn more and download a copy of the petition to put on the November ballot from this site.
From north to south and across the breadth of Illinois, various tax referenda were on the ballots this March. Although this article places the focus on property taxes, it will be seen that other Illinois taxes are related.
Property tax is a tax that local governments impose on real estate. It is what's known as an ad valorem tax, which means that it is based on the value of the property. Individuals with a home or land that has a higher value pay more in property taxes, though everyone within a given municipality pays property tax at the same flat percentage rate. Property tax is based on the assessed value of the taxpayer's property. Local governments use the money collected from property taxes for a number of programs. The majority of property tax revenue goes toward funding city and county governments, including meeting payroll for city employees. Property taxes also fund public schools, including local school districts and community colleges. Finally, some property tax revenue ends up funding community improvements such as mass transit construction and maintenance. Each municipality with the power to levy taxes may have the power to impose a separate property tax. This means that homeowners may be liable for property taxes from several municipalities, including the city, county and school district, although local legislation may limit the maximum property taxation rate.
A study by WalletHub shows that the property tax rate in Illinois is the second highest in the nation. WalletHub is a personal finance website based in Washington, D.C. that launched in 2013 (https://wallethub.com) According to the study, the median home value in Illinois is $175,700 and homeowners pay nearly $4,000 in property taxes on a home priced at the median value. That comes out to an effective tax rate of 2.25 percent, which is only .04 percentage points lower than New Jersey’s rate of 2.29 percent — the nation’s highest. Of course, property taxes in Illinois can vary greatly by counties and even within counties, from as low as $500 to more than $15,000 depending on a home’s value and location.
For the second year in a row, WalletHub has pegged Illinois as the worst state to be a taxpayer. The study ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on the effective total state and local tax rate, which is calculated as a percentage of the national median household income of $53,889. (Illinois' median household income is nearly $6000 more.) Four types of taxation are taken into account: property tax, vehicle property tax, income tax, and sales and excise tax. With an effective total state and local tax rate of 14.54 percent, Illinois has the highest tax rate in the nation. But when adjusted for cost of living, Illinois’ rank went from last to No. 43, according to WalletHub. Illinois was the only state to have a combined tax rate greater than 14 percent. It was trailed by Nebraska at 13.85 percent, Wisconsin at 13.58 percent, Connecticut at 13.48 percent, and Rhode Island at 13.46 percent. The five states with the lowest tax rates are Alaska (5.69 percent), Delaware (6.02 percent), Montana (6.92 percent), Wyoming (7.45 percent) and Nevada (7.72 percent). Interestingly, "red" states impose fewer taxes than "blue" states.
As for the four types of taxation WalletHub used to calculate the effective total state and local tax rate, Illinois ranked 50th for property taxes (second highest), 30th for income taxes and 27th for sales and excise taxes. (There’s no vehicle property tax in Illinois.)
In Illinois, property tax revenue is the largest source of funding for public schools, accounting for 66% of school districts’ total revenue. Gov. Bruce Rauner consistently has called for a property tax freeze, pointing to the fact many homeowners over the course of their lifetime will pay more in taxes than what their mortgage is worth. Read more here.
Two locations in Illinois help illustrate the impact of property taxes.
Chicago property tax rates are lower than most of the surrounding suburbs. Chicago business taxes are about 2.5 times more than residential property taxes. In 2015, Chicago property taxes were raised by $588 million (from 1.86% to 2.1%) for police and fire pensions and school construction, but some aldermen wondered why Chicago Mayor Emmanuel didn't raise the taxes even more. They foresaw what has become a reality: the budget stalemate in Springfield has prevented the payments they should have gotten and Chicago has had to use $220 million in “short-term bridge” financing to make police and fire pension payments which, by law, had to be deposited March 1. Interest on the "bridge" financing will cost the taxpayers of Chicago even more. More information here.
Meanwhile, in downstate Bond County, voters approved a one-cent increase in sales tax on certain items. Apparently a majority of voters agreed that the 1.6% tax rate on property in Bond County needed a boost from an increased sales tax. The Greenville Advocate reports that the County School Facility Sales Tax revenue will be dedicated solely for items related to facility improvements, including new school facilities, additions and renovations, land acquisition, safety and security improvements, energy efficiency, paying off building bonds, architectural planning and engineering, and durable equipment. One of the items taxed will be gasoline.
For a chart containing average home values for all 102 counties in Illinois along with average property taxes paid countywide, visit here.
The Tax Policy Center (TPC), a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, is a non-partisan research center based in Washington D.C. The Tax Policy Center looked at property taxes around the country, sorted by county, to find the highest average tax paid by county. Twenty-three Illinois counties were included in their findings. In 2012, six Illinois counties are included in the top 50, but there was only one Illinois county that was in the top 100 for average home prices. That means Illinoisans are paying a higher property tax rate than other places around the country. As one might expect property tax rates are generally higher in more populated areas. Rates also vary depending on school districts. More information available here.
Property taxes are up, but income is down in many Illinois counties. Each year, the U.S. Census Bureau releases updated estimates of poverty and income statistics through its Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates program. The Census Bureau flags counties in which there has been at least a 10 % decrease in income. The link below shows a map and list of the 30 counties in Illinois that were flagged: 19 counties with an 11 to 12% decrease in income, 7 counties with a 13-17% decrease, and 3 counties with a 20-22% decrease. Winnebago, Knox, and Boone counties are #1, #2, and #3, respectively, in magnitude of decrease. The highest concentration of counties with decreased income is in northern Illinois. Although income in many counties in Illinois has declined, Illinois does not have the greatest decline in the US. Learn more here.
Americans for Prosperity Illinois has continued its focus on fighting higher property taxes by joining with taxpayers to defeat 14 local referenda that would have hiked taxes. AFP was active in 29 tax-related referenda throughout Illinois that sought to implement a new tax, raise an existing tax, or issue municipal debt. Eight counties or towns failed to pass a sales tax while sales taxes passed in 12 counties or towns. Property tax increases failed in two elections but passed in one. Details can be found here.
Americans for Prosperity wants to help taxpayers voice their frustration by showing citizens in Illinois how to place a property tax freeze advisory question on the November ballot. Their invitation is "If you are tired of sky-rocketing property taxes, join us to learn more about getting a property tax freeze question on the ballot in your community." Learn more and download a copy of the petition to put on the November ballot from this site.
Broken Pension System in Illinois by Joyce Geiler
Illinois' budget nightmare didn't happen overnight; it is a complex problem without a simple solution. At the heart of Illinois impasse lays billions of dollars in unfunded pensions, and pensions are a complex issue without a simple solution. This article attempts to explore some of the complexities of the pension issue.
Illinois government pensions are paid out to teachers, state workers, university employees, legislators and judges, each with his or her own retirement service. The Teachers Retirement Service (TRS) is Illinois’s biggest retirement reserve, making up half the state’s pension funds. For years, the state legislature allowed the pension to go underfunded so it could spend money on other things. State educators and union executives used the borrowed cash to hire more teachers, boost salaries and improve local facilities. Representative Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook says "For decades, literally 40, 50, 60 years, we had not exercised the discipline to make the necessary payments" to the pension fund.
Attempts to Fix the Pension System
Not long after World War II, it became apparent that Illinois' pension system wasn't sustainable. Finally, in 1969, delegates to a state constitutional convention attempted to prod legislators to act by adding a clause to the constitution that prohibited pension benefits from being "diminished or impaired." The delegates assumed the legislature would never be so irresponsible as to let the system get completely out of hand if the option of cutting benefits was foreclosed. That turned out to be a political miscalculation with disastrous consequences. Legislators continued to routinely skip or underfund annual pension payments. And voters either returned them to office or replaced them with representatives who were equally irresponsible. Columnist Charles Chieppo writes "It's easy to dump all of the blame for the pension underfunding jam that Illinois is in on bad decisions made by generations of elected officials. But in a democracy, it's voters who have the final say."
Even though Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and the state legislature pushed through legislation aimed at overhauling the pension fund, a court challenge brought by organized labor stymied that progress. In 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down a pension reform plan, calling it unconstitutional. The court ruling made it clear that current employees' benefits cannot be touched. The Chicago Teachers Union exclaimed, “The law in Illinois is now crystal clear: Politicians cannot break the promises made to Chicago teachers and other city employees. Recently passed laws to cut promised retirement benefits are clearly unconstitutional.”
Illinois is one of only seven states that constitutionally protect their pensions. Since it hasn't seemed to work, some suggest that modifying the state constitution could be the solution. However, getting the state constitution changed would be tough, since a 3/5 majority is needed from the legislature before sending the measure to a public vote. The pension is about $54 billion underfunded, according to Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank. Compare that number to the state’s annual budget of $35 billion and the situation looks even more desperate. “You’d have to close down the entire state government for more than a year to just pay TRS out,” Mr. Dabrowski, said. “This situation is obviously extremely unhealthy.”
Other sources estimate that pensions in Illinois are underfunded by $113 billion. If the TRS had to pay out all of its pensions today, it could only afford to give its members 40 cents on the dollar. Yet the number of six-figure pensions TRS has been paying out has increased 24 percent this year compared to last, with about 6000 retired educators currently collecting more than $100,000 annually. Without reform, TRS's pension plan could go bust by 2029, the fund’s executive director Dick Ingram explained in 2012.
Almost 25% of Illinois funds are being paid out in retirement benefits.
Details of Pension Payouts
The Illinois Policy Institute, an independent government watchdog, estimates that more than half of Illinois state educators retire at age 59 or younger and receive $2 million in benefits after their career ends. Because of a guaranteed cost of living adjustment of 3 percent annually after 25 years in retirement, many of these individuals are earning more than double what they were making at the height of their career, the institute found. “It should be remembered that Illinois TSR members are not in Social Security,” said Charlie McBarron, a spokesman for the Illinois Education Association, a union representing more than 130,000 Illinois education professionals. “Their pensions are, for most, their life savings.”
Government workers who do not participate in Social Security – such as teachers and university employees – also do not have to contribute to the system via payroll taxes. In 2012, the system wide average TRS annuitant was three times what Social Security pays on a non-government worker's 6.2% share of their salary. The teacher pension’s 3 percent annual increases aren’t tied to inflation — meaning they cannot fluctuate up or down depending on the economy or budget pressures. Also, while Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) are capped at $456 annually, there’s no such limit on TRS's plan. Illinois public sector workers will receive, on average, a $1,906 annual cost of living adjustment this year — nine times more than the average Social Security beneficiary, according to calculations done by the Illinois Policy Institute. (Note: for 2016, Social Security beneficiaries received no cost-of-living increase.) Also, most non-teacher state government workers actually do participate in Social Security in addition to receiving a pension through the State Employees’ Retirement System.
“The 3 percent compounded increase provided (by TSR) is far more generous than any Social Security benefit would provide. It’s very expensive and needs to be paid out regardless of inflation and regardless of the state’s ability to pay,” said Laurence Msall, president of The Civic Federation, a nonpartisan research organization. “It’s one of the biggest drivers of the pension cost.” More than 100,000 retired Illinois educators had been paid back what they invested into the system just 20 months after leaving work, a financial burden linked to union collective bargaining, leaving taxpayers responsible for $2 million or more per teacher over the course of retirement. For most school districts pension payments are one of the top five annual expenses.
Pension Spiking and Early Retirement
Along with the annual cost-of-living adjustment, teacher salary spikes are also putting pressure on the pension system, watchdog groups warn. In the final four years of her career as Butler School District Superintendent, Sandra Renner saw her salary spike 31 percent to $288,240 — giving her a starting pension of $210,480, upon retirement, according to Open the Books data. Because of that spike, Ms. Renner’s pension is higher than her salary for all but five of the years she spent working as a professional, the group reported. Note: Open the Books is a non-partisan project of American Transparency. Read more here
Two years ago school administrator Mohsin Dada also received a nice pay boost. His income jumped 137 percent from $156,160 to $358,750 in his final year before retirement — giving him a pension of $254,700. However, Mr. Dada decided retirement wasn’t for him, because that same year he was appointed as chief financial officer of the North Shore School System — collecting a $239,895.95 salary, according to Open the Books. Between his pension and salary, Mr. Dada is clearing near a half-million dollars annually. Under state law, it is legal for Mr. Dada to collect his TRS pension and be employed in a school district in a position that is not covered by TSR.
The school board in the Hinsdale school district put a “stop pension spiking” referendum on this year’s November ballot. On average, its teachers were receiving a 24 percent salary lift in the final four years of their careers, according to Open the Books data. In addition to salary spiking, Hinsdale teachers are also nicely paid. Although their union has been threatening a strike if they don’t get a salary boost, the teacher income in that district has outpaced inflation by 76 percent since 2001, according to Open the Books. With an average salary of $111,000, the teachers at Hinsdale out-earn the average professor at the University of Illinois by more than $10,000, according to Open the Books.
Many unions try to make these spikes part of the teachers’ salary negotiations, and the school systems oblige, knowing they will only be responsible for four years of higher salary. Then the burden shifts to the state pension system, where it will be responsible for footing the higher salary for the entirety of the retirees’ lifetime — plus the 3 percent annual increase.
Many times, school districts agree to pay these higher wages because it actually costs local taxpayers less than what it would if the teacher opted to take an early retirement, said Ben Schwarm, deputy executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards. When the Illinois General Assembly allowed teachers the option of an early retirement, it required local school districts to put 20 percent of the teacher’s salary into the retirement fund for each of the next five years. Often, the board found it cheaper to get the teachers to stay longer and then give them 20 percent raises in the final two years of their term, Mr. Schwarm explained. He continued this discussion y relating that all pension reforms, enhancements and modifications need to go through the state legislature. Local schools and districts need to deal with the hand they’re dealt and haven’t been able to exert much influence over the process. Schwarm said. “Local school boards didn’t create this — in most part we’ve opposed all pension enhancements. But we get rolled over in the general assembly because they’re trying to make the teachers and the unions happy.”
Solutions?
The Illinois Association of School Boards’ main concern is that the state legislature will try solve the pension crisis by shifting the pension costs from the state to the local level. Mr. Schwarm states that this “would be devastating to the local school districts,” because the districts have no revenue streams to pay for the additional costs, Mr. Schwarm said. Two-thirds of local school funding is being paid through property taxes, and those rates have been consistently climbing in recent years. Right now everyone is crossing their fingers that pension reform will be declared constitutional by the courts, Mr. Schwarm said. The reforms include salary capping, an increased retirement age and a COLA tied to inflation.
According to Mr. Dabrowski of the Illinois Policy Institute, “The stage has been set for a big political battle between the unions, government workers, taxpayers and the poor and disadvantaged, who will see some of their benefits cut as pension costs climb. The state is on the verge of economic collapse, and the alternatives are massive tax increases or massive cuts in services that the state can’t support. It’s unfair to ask taxpayers to pay more if you still have workers who can retire in their 50s on $2 million pensions without trying to reform those things first.”
Representative Tom Morrison of Palatine proposes a plan that isn't illegal; it would work like a 401(k) plan. "The employers - be it a school district, municipality, the state of Illinois, a university - would put, in every employee's paycheck, a set amount of money; you know, a percentage for their future retirement. But, then the taxpayers are not on the hook for the benefits, regardless of what happens to the economy; regardless of what happens to the population of the state," said Representative Morrison.
In answer to those who suggest that a percentage of teacher's salaries be set aside for pensions, Stew Adams of the Illinois Education Association asks why would anyone want to be a teacher in Illinois if they had to work until they are 67 to receive benefits. "For us to have a pension clause in the constitution, to me, is just a fundamental right that all public employees should have," said Mr. Adams.
Meanwhile, the Illinois financial situation is only worsening. Creditors have found the state and its largest city, Chicago, to be on the same path as Detroit. In March Moody’s cut Chicago’s credit rating to Baa1 from A3, giving it the lowest credit rating of any major U.S. city other than Detroit. Illinois has the worst credit rating of any state in the nation.
As was stated at the beginning of this article, Illinois budget and pensions are complex issues. However, if Christians believe the Bible contains principles applicable to today's issues and if they believe the Kingdom of God should be salt and light in all cultural spheres, then they can be seeking God for those principles. Christians can pray for those in authority over them, endeavor to walk in truth and righteousness, and take active roles in the government and education mountains.
More information available at the following sites:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/1/generous-teacher-pensions-continue-as-illinois-fin/?page=all
http://wqad.com/2016/02/29/how-illinois-pensions-became-a-budget-nightmare-and-what-could-be-done-about-it/
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/policy-points/average-government-pensions-in-illinois/
http://www.governing.com/blogs/bfc/col-real-culprits-illinois-pension-underfunding-voters.html
Illinois' budget nightmare didn't happen overnight; it is a complex problem without a simple solution. At the heart of Illinois impasse lays billions of dollars in unfunded pensions, and pensions are a complex issue without a simple solution. This article attempts to explore some of the complexities of the pension issue.
Illinois government pensions are paid out to teachers, state workers, university employees, legislators and judges, each with his or her own retirement service. The Teachers Retirement Service (TRS) is Illinois’s biggest retirement reserve, making up half the state’s pension funds. For years, the state legislature allowed the pension to go underfunded so it could spend money on other things. State educators and union executives used the borrowed cash to hire more teachers, boost salaries and improve local facilities. Representative Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook says "For decades, literally 40, 50, 60 years, we had not exercised the discipline to make the necessary payments" to the pension fund.
Attempts to Fix the Pension System
Not long after World War II, it became apparent that Illinois' pension system wasn't sustainable. Finally, in 1969, delegates to a state constitutional convention attempted to prod legislators to act by adding a clause to the constitution that prohibited pension benefits from being "diminished or impaired." The delegates assumed the legislature would never be so irresponsible as to let the system get completely out of hand if the option of cutting benefits was foreclosed. That turned out to be a political miscalculation with disastrous consequences. Legislators continued to routinely skip or underfund annual pension payments. And voters either returned them to office or replaced them with representatives who were equally irresponsible. Columnist Charles Chieppo writes "It's easy to dump all of the blame for the pension underfunding jam that Illinois is in on bad decisions made by generations of elected officials. But in a democracy, it's voters who have the final say."
Even though Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and the state legislature pushed through legislation aimed at overhauling the pension fund, a court challenge brought by organized labor stymied that progress. In 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down a pension reform plan, calling it unconstitutional. The court ruling made it clear that current employees' benefits cannot be touched. The Chicago Teachers Union exclaimed, “The law in Illinois is now crystal clear: Politicians cannot break the promises made to Chicago teachers and other city employees. Recently passed laws to cut promised retirement benefits are clearly unconstitutional.”
Illinois is one of only seven states that constitutionally protect their pensions. Since it hasn't seemed to work, some suggest that modifying the state constitution could be the solution. However, getting the state constitution changed would be tough, since a 3/5 majority is needed from the legislature before sending the measure to a public vote. The pension is about $54 billion underfunded, according to Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank. Compare that number to the state’s annual budget of $35 billion and the situation looks even more desperate. “You’d have to close down the entire state government for more than a year to just pay TRS out,” Mr. Dabrowski, said. “This situation is obviously extremely unhealthy.”
Other sources estimate that pensions in Illinois are underfunded by $113 billion. If the TRS had to pay out all of its pensions today, it could only afford to give its members 40 cents on the dollar. Yet the number of six-figure pensions TRS has been paying out has increased 24 percent this year compared to last, with about 6000 retired educators currently collecting more than $100,000 annually. Without reform, TRS's pension plan could go bust by 2029, the fund’s executive director Dick Ingram explained in 2012.
Almost 25% of Illinois funds are being paid out in retirement benefits.
Details of Pension Payouts
The Illinois Policy Institute, an independent government watchdog, estimates that more than half of Illinois state educators retire at age 59 or younger and receive $2 million in benefits after their career ends. Because of a guaranteed cost of living adjustment of 3 percent annually after 25 years in retirement, many of these individuals are earning more than double what they were making at the height of their career, the institute found. “It should be remembered that Illinois TSR members are not in Social Security,” said Charlie McBarron, a spokesman for the Illinois Education Association, a union representing more than 130,000 Illinois education professionals. “Their pensions are, for most, their life savings.”
Government workers who do not participate in Social Security – such as teachers and university employees – also do not have to contribute to the system via payroll taxes. In 2012, the system wide average TRS annuitant was three times what Social Security pays on a non-government worker's 6.2% share of their salary. The teacher pension’s 3 percent annual increases aren’t tied to inflation — meaning they cannot fluctuate up or down depending on the economy or budget pressures. Also, while Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) are capped at $456 annually, there’s no such limit on TRS's plan. Illinois public sector workers will receive, on average, a $1,906 annual cost of living adjustment this year — nine times more than the average Social Security beneficiary, according to calculations done by the Illinois Policy Institute. (Note: for 2016, Social Security beneficiaries received no cost-of-living increase.) Also, most non-teacher state government workers actually do participate in Social Security in addition to receiving a pension through the State Employees’ Retirement System.
“The 3 percent compounded increase provided (by TSR) is far more generous than any Social Security benefit would provide. It’s very expensive and needs to be paid out regardless of inflation and regardless of the state’s ability to pay,” said Laurence Msall, president of The Civic Federation, a nonpartisan research organization. “It’s one of the biggest drivers of the pension cost.” More than 100,000 retired Illinois educators had been paid back what they invested into the system just 20 months after leaving work, a financial burden linked to union collective bargaining, leaving taxpayers responsible for $2 million or more per teacher over the course of retirement. For most school districts pension payments are one of the top five annual expenses.
Pension Spiking and Early Retirement
Along with the annual cost-of-living adjustment, teacher salary spikes are also putting pressure on the pension system, watchdog groups warn. In the final four years of her career as Butler School District Superintendent, Sandra Renner saw her salary spike 31 percent to $288,240 — giving her a starting pension of $210,480, upon retirement, according to Open the Books data. Because of that spike, Ms. Renner’s pension is higher than her salary for all but five of the years she spent working as a professional, the group reported. Note: Open the Books is a non-partisan project of American Transparency. Read more here
Two years ago school administrator Mohsin Dada also received a nice pay boost. His income jumped 137 percent from $156,160 to $358,750 in his final year before retirement — giving him a pension of $254,700. However, Mr. Dada decided retirement wasn’t for him, because that same year he was appointed as chief financial officer of the North Shore School System — collecting a $239,895.95 salary, according to Open the Books. Between his pension and salary, Mr. Dada is clearing near a half-million dollars annually. Under state law, it is legal for Mr. Dada to collect his TRS pension and be employed in a school district in a position that is not covered by TSR.
The school board in the Hinsdale school district put a “stop pension spiking” referendum on this year’s November ballot. On average, its teachers were receiving a 24 percent salary lift in the final four years of their careers, according to Open the Books data. In addition to salary spiking, Hinsdale teachers are also nicely paid. Although their union has been threatening a strike if they don’t get a salary boost, the teacher income in that district has outpaced inflation by 76 percent since 2001, according to Open the Books. With an average salary of $111,000, the teachers at Hinsdale out-earn the average professor at the University of Illinois by more than $10,000, according to Open the Books.
Many unions try to make these spikes part of the teachers’ salary negotiations, and the school systems oblige, knowing they will only be responsible for four years of higher salary. Then the burden shifts to the state pension system, where it will be responsible for footing the higher salary for the entirety of the retirees’ lifetime — plus the 3 percent annual increase.
Many times, school districts agree to pay these higher wages because it actually costs local taxpayers less than what it would if the teacher opted to take an early retirement, said Ben Schwarm, deputy executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards. When the Illinois General Assembly allowed teachers the option of an early retirement, it required local school districts to put 20 percent of the teacher’s salary into the retirement fund for each of the next five years. Often, the board found it cheaper to get the teachers to stay longer and then give them 20 percent raises in the final two years of their term, Mr. Schwarm explained. He continued this discussion y relating that all pension reforms, enhancements and modifications need to go through the state legislature. Local schools and districts need to deal with the hand they’re dealt and haven’t been able to exert much influence over the process. Schwarm said. “Local school boards didn’t create this — in most part we’ve opposed all pension enhancements. But we get rolled over in the general assembly because they’re trying to make the teachers and the unions happy.”
Solutions?
The Illinois Association of School Boards’ main concern is that the state legislature will try solve the pension crisis by shifting the pension costs from the state to the local level. Mr. Schwarm states that this “would be devastating to the local school districts,” because the districts have no revenue streams to pay for the additional costs, Mr. Schwarm said. Two-thirds of local school funding is being paid through property taxes, and those rates have been consistently climbing in recent years. Right now everyone is crossing their fingers that pension reform will be declared constitutional by the courts, Mr. Schwarm said. The reforms include salary capping, an increased retirement age and a COLA tied to inflation.
According to Mr. Dabrowski of the Illinois Policy Institute, “The stage has been set for a big political battle between the unions, government workers, taxpayers and the poor and disadvantaged, who will see some of their benefits cut as pension costs climb. The state is on the verge of economic collapse, and the alternatives are massive tax increases or massive cuts in services that the state can’t support. It’s unfair to ask taxpayers to pay more if you still have workers who can retire in their 50s on $2 million pensions without trying to reform those things first.”
Representative Tom Morrison of Palatine proposes a plan that isn't illegal; it would work like a 401(k) plan. "The employers - be it a school district, municipality, the state of Illinois, a university - would put, in every employee's paycheck, a set amount of money; you know, a percentage for their future retirement. But, then the taxpayers are not on the hook for the benefits, regardless of what happens to the economy; regardless of what happens to the population of the state," said Representative Morrison.
In answer to those who suggest that a percentage of teacher's salaries be set aside for pensions, Stew Adams of the Illinois Education Association asks why would anyone want to be a teacher in Illinois if they had to work until they are 67 to receive benefits. "For us to have a pension clause in the constitution, to me, is just a fundamental right that all public employees should have," said Mr. Adams.
Meanwhile, the Illinois financial situation is only worsening. Creditors have found the state and its largest city, Chicago, to be on the same path as Detroit. In March Moody’s cut Chicago’s credit rating to Baa1 from A3, giving it the lowest credit rating of any major U.S. city other than Detroit. Illinois has the worst credit rating of any state in the nation.
As was stated at the beginning of this article, Illinois budget and pensions are complex issues. However, if Christians believe the Bible contains principles applicable to today's issues and if they believe the Kingdom of God should be salt and light in all cultural spheres, then they can be seeking God for those principles. Christians can pray for those in authority over them, endeavor to walk in truth and righteousness, and take active roles in the government and education mountains.
More information available at the following sites:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/1/generous-teacher-pensions-continue-as-illinois-fin/?page=all
http://wqad.com/2016/02/29/how-illinois-pensions-became-a-budget-nightmare-and-what-could-be-done-about-it/
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/policy-points/average-government-pensions-in-illinois/
http://www.governing.com/blogs/bfc/col-real-culprits-illinois-pension-underfunding-voters.html
Fracking Revisited by Joyce Geiler
The Kingdom Congress of Illinois convened in October, 2013 to consider the issue of Hydraulic Fracturing, an issue of concern to Illinoisans. Fracking has the potential to revitalize the economy of southern Illinois, which has been depressed as the coal industry has floundered. Much controversy surrounds fracking, especially fueled by the concerns of environmentalists. At the end of this article, the conclusions of the Kingdom Congress will be stated.
The Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act, which governs high-volume horizontal fracking operations: those that use more than 300,000 gallons of water and chemicals in the extraction process, was signed on June 17, 2013. In November of that year, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), which had been instructed to write the regulations for fracking, released the first notice of proposed rules and scheduled five public forums to hear comments from the public. After collecting 38,000 comments and 43,000 pages of written comments, the IDNR revised its proposed rules and gave them to a legislative committee to review and authorize them. The rules were generally recognized as the most stringent of any state, affording protection for landowners and the land itself. On Nov. 6, 2014, the legislative committee adopted the IDNR’s proposed rules.
Four days after the adoption of the rules, anti-fracking plaintiffs comprised of Southern Illinois landowners filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and asked for an injunction, which would have stopped high-volume fracturing immediately. The injunction failed, but the lawsuit survived. The Illinois Attorney General’s office filed a motion to dismiss the suit, so the plaintiffs amended their complaint to address the issues the state’s lawyers raised. The state then filed another motion to dismiss in May 2015. The hearing on that motion was heard on Feb. 11, 2016. Madison County Circuit Court Associate Judge Clarence Harrison heard arguments on whether to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the way the regulations were written and regulations that govern high-volume hydraulic fracturing. The plaintiffs argued that the IDNR didn’t follow proper procedures in setting the language of the law. Many, if not all, of the plaintiffs’ challenges were based on what the state views as technicalities, such as providing the contact information of the people who organized public hearing. The state asked for dismissal of the case. The judge requested both sides to submit proposed rulings within 45 days thus leaving fracturing regulations in Illinois still unsettled.
Some of the plaintiffs’ 13 allegations included that the IDNR failed to make someone available to answer questions at public forums when the law was proposed, that the forums were poorly managed, and that the 2013 Hydraulic Fracturing Act violated landowners’ rights, because companies could extend underground pipes to take the landowners’ oil without warning, which the plaintiffs said was trespassing. To those three allegations, the state said that the IDNR representative was not required to answer questions, that reasonable limits to meetings don’t invalidate them, and that potential trespassing doesn’t mean it will actually happen. Fracking critics say the process causes earthquakes and pollutes water and air. Judge Harrison recognized the plaintiffs’ passion for environmentalism.
Because the injunction failed, energy companies can engage in hydraulic fracturing right now if they want, though the IDNR reports that it has not received any applications for high-volume well permits since the Hydraulic Fracturing Act passed. Brad Richards, the executive vice president of the Illinois Oil & Gas Association says that’s because low oil prices are discouraging investment. If the General Assembly hadn’t dragged its heels in passing the Hydraulic Fracturing Act and settled on the regulatory language sooner, Richards said, then the state’s oil industry could have invested in and benefited from hydraulic fracturing. Read More
The only two companies registered to frack in the state are Strata-X, based in Denver, and Kimmeridge Tri-State Exploration, which is from New York.
In considering the issue of fracking, the Kingdom Congress examined the roles of three spheres of influence from a biblical perspective: business, civil and media. Those in business should freely make legitimate contracts that benefit both buyer and seller and that comply with regulations. In addition, civil government has the duty to ensure the free exercise of biblically-defined personal liberties, promote the common good, and establish and enforce laws, which would include laws that regulate the fracking industry in regards to contaminants and safety. Finally, media has a powerful influence on people's perceptions of issues and must investigate, verify, and disseminate factual and unbiased information in order to bring forth the truth. Kingdom Congress position papers on fracking and business, fracking and civil or fracking and media may be found here.
The Kingdom Congress declared that "in order to apply God's eternal principles, limit boundary violations, empower legitimate land stewardship, and release the economic potential within the state of Illinois, Hydraulic Fracturing is a legitimate method of accessing the resources available to the state." Even while the issue of hydraulic fracking is unsettled in the state, the declarations of the ekklesia remain unchanged. Kingdom Congress Resolution on Hydraulic Fracturing may be found here.
The Kingdom Congress of Illinois convened in October, 2013 to consider the issue of Hydraulic Fracturing, an issue of concern to Illinoisans. Fracking has the potential to revitalize the economy of southern Illinois, which has been depressed as the coal industry has floundered. Much controversy surrounds fracking, especially fueled by the concerns of environmentalists. At the end of this article, the conclusions of the Kingdom Congress will be stated.
The Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act, which governs high-volume horizontal fracking operations: those that use more than 300,000 gallons of water and chemicals in the extraction process, was signed on June 17, 2013. In November of that year, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), which had been instructed to write the regulations for fracking, released the first notice of proposed rules and scheduled five public forums to hear comments from the public. After collecting 38,000 comments and 43,000 pages of written comments, the IDNR revised its proposed rules and gave them to a legislative committee to review and authorize them. The rules were generally recognized as the most stringent of any state, affording protection for landowners and the land itself. On Nov. 6, 2014, the legislative committee adopted the IDNR’s proposed rules.
Four days after the adoption of the rules, anti-fracking plaintiffs comprised of Southern Illinois landowners filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and asked for an injunction, which would have stopped high-volume fracturing immediately. The injunction failed, but the lawsuit survived. The Illinois Attorney General’s office filed a motion to dismiss the suit, so the plaintiffs amended their complaint to address the issues the state’s lawyers raised. The state then filed another motion to dismiss in May 2015. The hearing on that motion was heard on Feb. 11, 2016. Madison County Circuit Court Associate Judge Clarence Harrison heard arguments on whether to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the way the regulations were written and regulations that govern high-volume hydraulic fracturing. The plaintiffs argued that the IDNR didn’t follow proper procedures in setting the language of the law. Many, if not all, of the plaintiffs’ challenges were based on what the state views as technicalities, such as providing the contact information of the people who organized public hearing. The state asked for dismissal of the case. The judge requested both sides to submit proposed rulings within 45 days thus leaving fracturing regulations in Illinois still unsettled.
Some of the plaintiffs’ 13 allegations included that the IDNR failed to make someone available to answer questions at public forums when the law was proposed, that the forums were poorly managed, and that the 2013 Hydraulic Fracturing Act violated landowners’ rights, because companies could extend underground pipes to take the landowners’ oil without warning, which the plaintiffs said was trespassing. To those three allegations, the state said that the IDNR representative was not required to answer questions, that reasonable limits to meetings don’t invalidate them, and that potential trespassing doesn’t mean it will actually happen. Fracking critics say the process causes earthquakes and pollutes water and air. Judge Harrison recognized the plaintiffs’ passion for environmentalism.
Because the injunction failed, energy companies can engage in hydraulic fracturing right now if they want, though the IDNR reports that it has not received any applications for high-volume well permits since the Hydraulic Fracturing Act passed. Brad Richards, the executive vice president of the Illinois Oil & Gas Association says that’s because low oil prices are discouraging investment. If the General Assembly hadn’t dragged its heels in passing the Hydraulic Fracturing Act and settled on the regulatory language sooner, Richards said, then the state’s oil industry could have invested in and benefited from hydraulic fracturing. Read More
The only two companies registered to frack in the state are Strata-X, based in Denver, and Kimmeridge Tri-State Exploration, which is from New York.
In considering the issue of fracking, the Kingdom Congress examined the roles of three spheres of influence from a biblical perspective: business, civil and media. Those in business should freely make legitimate contracts that benefit both buyer and seller and that comply with regulations. In addition, civil government has the duty to ensure the free exercise of biblically-defined personal liberties, promote the common good, and establish and enforce laws, which would include laws that regulate the fracking industry in regards to contaminants and safety. Finally, media has a powerful influence on people's perceptions of issues and must investigate, verify, and disseminate factual and unbiased information in order to bring forth the truth. Kingdom Congress position papers on fracking and business, fracking and civil or fracking and media may be found here.
The Kingdom Congress declared that "in order to apply God's eternal principles, limit boundary violations, empower legitimate land stewardship, and release the economic potential within the state of Illinois, Hydraulic Fracturing is a legitimate method of accessing the resources available to the state." Even while the issue of hydraulic fracking is unsettled in the state, the declarations of the ekklesia remain unchanged. Kingdom Congress Resolution on Hydraulic Fracturing may be found here.
Ekklesia: Media Bias by Joyce Geiler
Media bias is nothing new, but a number of polls have demonstrated that the perception of media bias has increased in the last few decades. Conservatives especially seem to notice media bias. Bias is prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. Bias is not limited to media. When considering media bias, one is generally speaking of either a conservative or a liberal bias.
According to on-line dictionaries, conservative means holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion. Synonyms listed are: traditionalist, traditional, conventional, orthodox, old-fashioned, dyed-in-the-wool, hidebound, unadventurous, set in one's ways, moderate, middle-of-the-road, buttoned-down; rightist, diehard, Republican, and Tory. Tory is particularly interesting as Tories were American colonists who supported the British; now, conservatives support the U.S. constitution.
Liberal is defined as believing that government should be active in supporting social and political change, not opposed to new ideas or ways of behaving that are not traditional or widely accepted. There were no synonyms given for liberal. Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve problems. Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Conservatives are generally seen as being against public schools, science and the scientific method. A writer for the Western Courier of Western Illinois University, Macomb, illustrates media bias when he states that "a conservative is a person who believes in the status quo. Conservatives believe that the United States is perfect the way it is, and the only change they support is backward. On the other hand, liberals see there is still room for improvement and believe any change is better than stagnation." Read more here.
The Associated Press, a multi-national nonprofit news agency headquartered in New York is the source of most news. Newspapers and radio and television stations contribute stories to AP for distribution, and AP allows local news outlets to edit the stories to fit their available space. As of 2007, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,700 newspapers, in addition to more than 5,000 television and radio broadcasters. Yahoo!, Google and MSN also depend on the AP for news. Since the majority of news outlets are receiving their input from the same source, it is the agenda of the news agency that determines the lens through which the information is presented.
America's partisan divide is illustrated by which news outlet people prefer. Some news outlets have a fairly even distribution of viewers, while others (some of which are the most popular in the country) skew strongly to the right or left. A new report from the Pew Research Center breaks down the news consumption habits of Americans. Most say they get their news form local TV and Facebook, but Americans still rely heavily on network and cable news shows as well as newspapers and digital outlets. Almost half (44%) of the respondents say they get their news from CNN. Other network and cable news outlets — Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, and MSNBC — took the remaining top five spots. Pew Research did not conclude that a news outlet was particularly conservative or liberal, but the respondents self-identified their position. In other words, its not what the news reports but who listens.
Fox, one of the most widely used news outlets, has an audience that leans conservative, while CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC have audiences that lean left. Among newspapers, The New York Times and USA Today ranked highest in numbers of people turning to them as their news source, but their numbers still didn't compare to those of the TV networks. The average Times reader identifies as mostly liberal, while USA Today is more mixed but still leaning left. Left and right leanings of all the news outlets researched are as follows:
Mixed consumers relied on Yahoo, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MSNBC (slightly left), NBC News (slightly left), Fox News (slightly right), CNN (slightly left), Google News, CBS News, Bloomberg (small following), and ABC.
Consumers were mostly liberal who relied on Washington Post, Slate, PBS, New Yorker, Politico, New York Times, NPR, Huffington Post, and BBC. The Guardian, Economist, Colbert Report and the Daily Show have small followings of liberals. Mostly conservative consumers follow The Blaze, Sean Hannity Show, Rush Limbaugh Show, and Glen Beck Program, with the Drudge Report having a small following. For more details of this research go here
The Washington Post summarizes the Pew Research. "Conservative talkers are on the far right, while most mainstream media outlets have a slightly left-of-center audience -- but there are a few interesting takeaways.
1) The most-preferred media outlets of liberals, according to Pew's study, are the New Yorker and Slate.
2) Fox News's viewership is pretty moderate compared to the Hannity’s, Limbaugh’s, Beck's and Breitbart’s. This is probably because Fox's audience is just so large that it couldn't be relegated to an extreme end of the chart. But even liberals watch Fox.
3) The broadcast stations (NBC, CBS, ABC) and online news sites like Yahoo and Google have a more middle-of-the-road audience than other mainstream media outlets. People who read BuzzFeed, Politico, The Washington Post and The New York Times all tend to be more liberal.
4) MSNBC, despite its reputation as the most liberal cable news network, has a more moderate audience than the four publications mentioned above and only a slightly more liberal audience than CNN.
5) About half of the 32 outlets have an audience that pretty clearly leans to the left, while seven have audiences that lean conservative. The rest (including all the broadcast networks) are somewhere near the middle. Read more here
In debunking the "myth of liberal media", a writer for the Jacksonville Courier relates that over the long term, Republican presidential candidates won nearly three quarters of newspaper endorsements from the 1930s through the 1980s. In other elections at the state and federal level, a similar pattern holds: from an overwhelming majority of endorsements from the 1940s through the 1960s, newspapers shifted to a more even split in the 1970s and 1980s, to a slight national majority for Democrats since the 1990s, with significant regional differences. In the 2014 governor's race in Illinois, 12 of the 14 largest newspapers in the state endorsed the Republican Rauner. More information may be obtained here.
A PDF of journals, magazines, and newspapers (editorial viewpoints) gives advice on determining whether a publication is left, right, and non-partisan. The same advice applies to any news source. "Ever heard the saying 'consider the source' in response to something that was questioned? The same advice applies to what you read – consider the source. When conducting research, bear in mind that periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers) may have varying points-of-view, biases, and/or political leanings. Here are some questions to ask when considering using a periodical source:
· Is there a bias in the publication or is it non-partisan?
· Who is the sponsor (publisher or benefactor) of the publication?
· What is the agenda of the sponsor – to simply share information or to influence social or political change? Some publications have specific political perspectives and outright state what they are, as in Dissent Magazine (self-described as “a magazine of the left”) or National Review’s boast of, “we give you the right view and back it up.” Still, there are other publications that do not clearly state their political leanings; but over time have been deemed as left-leaning or right-leaning based on such factors as the points of view of their opinion columnists, the make-up of their editorial staff, and/or their endorsements of politicians." Read more here
Another source, lists conservative news, talk radio, newspapers/magazines, media watchdogs, media personalities, journalists, and even Hollywood conservatives. There appears to be no listing of the political leaning of Illinois newspapers. The Chicago Tribune, St. Louis Post Dispatch, and Chicago Sun-Times, however, are listed as conservative by this source.
Media bias is nothing new, but a number of polls have demonstrated that the perception of media bias has increased in the last few decades. Conservatives especially seem to notice media bias. Bias is prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. Bias is not limited to media. When considering media bias, one is generally speaking of either a conservative or a liberal bias.
According to on-line dictionaries, conservative means holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion. Synonyms listed are: traditionalist, traditional, conventional, orthodox, old-fashioned, dyed-in-the-wool, hidebound, unadventurous, set in one's ways, moderate, middle-of-the-road, buttoned-down; rightist, diehard, Republican, and Tory. Tory is particularly interesting as Tories were American colonists who supported the British; now, conservatives support the U.S. constitution.
Liberal is defined as believing that government should be active in supporting social and political change, not opposed to new ideas or ways of behaving that are not traditional or widely accepted. There were no synonyms given for liberal. Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve problems. Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Conservatives are generally seen as being against public schools, science and the scientific method. A writer for the Western Courier of Western Illinois University, Macomb, illustrates media bias when he states that "a conservative is a person who believes in the status quo. Conservatives believe that the United States is perfect the way it is, and the only change they support is backward. On the other hand, liberals see there is still room for improvement and believe any change is better than stagnation." Read more here.
The Associated Press, a multi-national nonprofit news agency headquartered in New York is the source of most news. Newspapers and radio and television stations contribute stories to AP for distribution, and AP allows local news outlets to edit the stories to fit their available space. As of 2007, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,700 newspapers, in addition to more than 5,000 television and radio broadcasters. Yahoo!, Google and MSN also depend on the AP for news. Since the majority of news outlets are receiving their input from the same source, it is the agenda of the news agency that determines the lens through which the information is presented.
America's partisan divide is illustrated by which news outlet people prefer. Some news outlets have a fairly even distribution of viewers, while others (some of which are the most popular in the country) skew strongly to the right or left. A new report from the Pew Research Center breaks down the news consumption habits of Americans. Most say they get their news form local TV and Facebook, but Americans still rely heavily on network and cable news shows as well as newspapers and digital outlets. Almost half (44%) of the respondents say they get their news from CNN. Other network and cable news outlets — Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, and MSNBC — took the remaining top five spots. Pew Research did not conclude that a news outlet was particularly conservative or liberal, but the respondents self-identified their position. In other words, its not what the news reports but who listens.
Fox, one of the most widely used news outlets, has an audience that leans conservative, while CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC have audiences that lean left. Among newspapers, The New York Times and USA Today ranked highest in numbers of people turning to them as their news source, but their numbers still didn't compare to those of the TV networks. The average Times reader identifies as mostly liberal, while USA Today is more mixed but still leaning left. Left and right leanings of all the news outlets researched are as follows:
Mixed consumers relied on Yahoo, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MSNBC (slightly left), NBC News (slightly left), Fox News (slightly right), CNN (slightly left), Google News, CBS News, Bloomberg (small following), and ABC.
Consumers were mostly liberal who relied on Washington Post, Slate, PBS, New Yorker, Politico, New York Times, NPR, Huffington Post, and BBC. The Guardian, Economist, Colbert Report and the Daily Show have small followings of liberals. Mostly conservative consumers follow The Blaze, Sean Hannity Show, Rush Limbaugh Show, and Glen Beck Program, with the Drudge Report having a small following. For more details of this research go here
The Washington Post summarizes the Pew Research. "Conservative talkers are on the far right, while most mainstream media outlets have a slightly left-of-center audience -- but there are a few interesting takeaways.
1) The most-preferred media outlets of liberals, according to Pew's study, are the New Yorker and Slate.
2) Fox News's viewership is pretty moderate compared to the Hannity’s, Limbaugh’s, Beck's and Breitbart’s. This is probably because Fox's audience is just so large that it couldn't be relegated to an extreme end of the chart. But even liberals watch Fox.
3) The broadcast stations (NBC, CBS, ABC) and online news sites like Yahoo and Google have a more middle-of-the-road audience than other mainstream media outlets. People who read BuzzFeed, Politico, The Washington Post and The New York Times all tend to be more liberal.
4) MSNBC, despite its reputation as the most liberal cable news network, has a more moderate audience than the four publications mentioned above and only a slightly more liberal audience than CNN.
5) About half of the 32 outlets have an audience that pretty clearly leans to the left, while seven have audiences that lean conservative. The rest (including all the broadcast networks) are somewhere near the middle. Read more here
In debunking the "myth of liberal media", a writer for the Jacksonville Courier relates that over the long term, Republican presidential candidates won nearly three quarters of newspaper endorsements from the 1930s through the 1980s. In other elections at the state and federal level, a similar pattern holds: from an overwhelming majority of endorsements from the 1940s through the 1960s, newspapers shifted to a more even split in the 1970s and 1980s, to a slight national majority for Democrats since the 1990s, with significant regional differences. In the 2014 governor's race in Illinois, 12 of the 14 largest newspapers in the state endorsed the Republican Rauner. More information may be obtained here.
A PDF of journals, magazines, and newspapers (editorial viewpoints) gives advice on determining whether a publication is left, right, and non-partisan. The same advice applies to any news source. "Ever heard the saying 'consider the source' in response to something that was questioned? The same advice applies to what you read – consider the source. When conducting research, bear in mind that periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers) may have varying points-of-view, biases, and/or political leanings. Here are some questions to ask when considering using a periodical source:
· Is there a bias in the publication or is it non-partisan?
· Who is the sponsor (publisher or benefactor) of the publication?
· What is the agenda of the sponsor – to simply share information or to influence social or political change? Some publications have specific political perspectives and outright state what they are, as in Dissent Magazine (self-described as “a magazine of the left”) or National Review’s boast of, “we give you the right view and back it up.” Still, there are other publications that do not clearly state their political leanings; but over time have been deemed as left-leaning or right-leaning based on such factors as the points of view of their opinion columnists, the make-up of their editorial staff, and/or their endorsements of politicians." Read more here
Another source, lists conservative news, talk radio, newspapers/magazines, media watchdogs, media personalities, journalists, and even Hollywood conservatives. There appears to be no listing of the political leaning of Illinois newspapers. The Chicago Tribune, St. Louis Post Dispatch, and Chicago Sun-Times, however, are listed as conservative by this source.
Illinois Farmers by Joyce Geiler
One of Illinois' richest resources is its land and the farmers who work that land. How is farming doing in the current political climate in Illinois? The Illinois Farm Bureau conducted a recent survey that revealed that 66% of members surveyed feel less optimistic about the farming economy for this year. The Bureau represents three out of four Illinois farmers, with a total membership of 400,000.
Over the last year, commodity prices have stayed below break-even levels while input costs like cash rent, crop protection, and seed cost have not dropped correspondingly. More than three-fourths of those surveyed said they plan to reduce input costs by delaying implement purchases and cutting back on chemical and fertilizer purchases. Other possible strategies mentioned were negotiating lower cash rent, buying less expensive seed, incorporating new technology, choosing a lower level of crop insurance coverage, or giving up a portion of rented ground for 2016. Farmers would thereby contribute less to Illinois' Gross National Product, which is the total value of all finished goods and services.
Farmers were also concerned over regulatory and legislative issues with the top concern being striking down the Waters of the U.S. rule, which defines what rivers, streams, lakes and marshes fall under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. Other concerns were tax reform, maintaining the viability of federal crop insurance, making transportation infrastructure improvements, and preserving the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The RFS is a federal program that requires transportation fuel sold in the U.S. to contain increasing amounts of renewable fuels such as ethanol. More results of the survey can be found here.
Not all farm reports are negative, however. One encouraging story concerns the expansion of Beck's Hybrids from Iowa into Illinois. Beck's is a seed company that promotes research and production of seeds that are adapted to differing local climates. Beck's started in Indiana in 1937 and now has 15 facilities in nine states, seven of which are in Illinois. Illinois has been their fastest-growing market for the past two years in the sale of corn and soybeans.
Jonathon Perkins, who directs practical farm research for Beck’s, said there is an increasing need for research during a time of new technologies and shrinking university budgets that have squeezed research programs. The company often molds studies to farmer requests, he said, then invites them to field days to learn the results. Beck said much of the research involves basic management practices such as fertilizer application and planting dates. He has proposed tests into tile drainage in Southern Illinois. Learn more here.
Another positive story involves an Eastern Illinois pioneering organic farmer, Harold Wilken of Danforth, who was awarded the R.J. Vollmer Award for Sustainable Agriculture by the Illinois Department of Agriculture on January 7. Wilken began farming just 33 years ago and now handles a diverse organic operation growing corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, pumpkins, black beans, alfalfa, popcorn and seed corn on 2,370 acres. The farm has added nearly 1,000 acres since 2008. Wilken has brought his son, a nephew, and a few other young people into farming. Organic is becoming more mainstream as an increasing number of landowners want their land farmed organically and more companies need organic grain and hay to meet consumer demand. According to Bill Davison, a local food educator for the University of Illinois Extension, "If we in the U.S. don't produce more organic grain, then companies are going to continue sourcing it from eastern Europe and other areas to meet consumer demand." Read more here.
A Google search for "farm stories in Illinois" turns up a number of stories of successful farmers. John and Dean Werries operate a third generation family farm in Chapin. Doug Schemmer worked for 21 years in agribusiness while helping his dad on the family farm in Williamsville as much as he could. In 2012, he took over the operation full-time and has challenged himself to increase his farm's profitability through the use of technology. Ken Dalenberg farms corn and soybeans near Mansfield and has been a pioneer of precision agriculture since its earliest days. He's now using aggregated farm analytics, technology that gives him specific data on the production of each field.
Whether or not a farmer is a Christian and whether or not he uses Christian lingo to explain how he is farming, the farmer must steward the land and diligently operate the biblical principles of sowing and reaping in order to make the business of farming profitable. Such farms are a blessing to Illinois and are to be appreciated as vital to Illinois' economy.
One of Illinois' richest resources is its land and the farmers who work that land. How is farming doing in the current political climate in Illinois? The Illinois Farm Bureau conducted a recent survey that revealed that 66% of members surveyed feel less optimistic about the farming economy for this year. The Bureau represents three out of four Illinois farmers, with a total membership of 400,000.
Over the last year, commodity prices have stayed below break-even levels while input costs like cash rent, crop protection, and seed cost have not dropped correspondingly. More than three-fourths of those surveyed said they plan to reduce input costs by delaying implement purchases and cutting back on chemical and fertilizer purchases. Other possible strategies mentioned were negotiating lower cash rent, buying less expensive seed, incorporating new technology, choosing a lower level of crop insurance coverage, or giving up a portion of rented ground for 2016. Farmers would thereby contribute less to Illinois' Gross National Product, which is the total value of all finished goods and services.
Farmers were also concerned over regulatory and legislative issues with the top concern being striking down the Waters of the U.S. rule, which defines what rivers, streams, lakes and marshes fall under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. Other concerns were tax reform, maintaining the viability of federal crop insurance, making transportation infrastructure improvements, and preserving the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The RFS is a federal program that requires transportation fuel sold in the U.S. to contain increasing amounts of renewable fuels such as ethanol. More results of the survey can be found here.
Not all farm reports are negative, however. One encouraging story concerns the expansion of Beck's Hybrids from Iowa into Illinois. Beck's is a seed company that promotes research and production of seeds that are adapted to differing local climates. Beck's started in Indiana in 1937 and now has 15 facilities in nine states, seven of which are in Illinois. Illinois has been their fastest-growing market for the past two years in the sale of corn and soybeans.
Jonathon Perkins, who directs practical farm research for Beck’s, said there is an increasing need for research during a time of new technologies and shrinking university budgets that have squeezed research programs. The company often molds studies to farmer requests, he said, then invites them to field days to learn the results. Beck said much of the research involves basic management practices such as fertilizer application and planting dates. He has proposed tests into tile drainage in Southern Illinois. Learn more here.
Another positive story involves an Eastern Illinois pioneering organic farmer, Harold Wilken of Danforth, who was awarded the R.J. Vollmer Award for Sustainable Agriculture by the Illinois Department of Agriculture on January 7. Wilken began farming just 33 years ago and now handles a diverse organic operation growing corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, pumpkins, black beans, alfalfa, popcorn and seed corn on 2,370 acres. The farm has added nearly 1,000 acres since 2008. Wilken has brought his son, a nephew, and a few other young people into farming. Organic is becoming more mainstream as an increasing number of landowners want their land farmed organically and more companies need organic grain and hay to meet consumer demand. According to Bill Davison, a local food educator for the University of Illinois Extension, "If we in the U.S. don't produce more organic grain, then companies are going to continue sourcing it from eastern Europe and other areas to meet consumer demand." Read more here.
A Google search for "farm stories in Illinois" turns up a number of stories of successful farmers. John and Dean Werries operate a third generation family farm in Chapin. Doug Schemmer worked for 21 years in agribusiness while helping his dad on the family farm in Williamsville as much as he could. In 2012, he took over the operation full-time and has challenged himself to increase his farm's profitability through the use of technology. Ken Dalenberg farms corn and soybeans near Mansfield and has been a pioneer of precision agriculture since its earliest days. He's now using aggregated farm analytics, technology that gives him specific data on the production of each field.
Whether or not a farmer is a Christian and whether or not he uses Christian lingo to explain how he is farming, the farmer must steward the land and diligently operate the biblical principles of sowing and reaping in order to make the business of farming profitable. Such farms are a blessing to Illinois and are to be appreciated as vital to Illinois' economy.
A Prayer Strategy for Illinois Schools by Joyce Geiler
On Saturday, January 30th, James Nesbit held a meeting at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. One of the highlights of the meeting was reviewing the mottos of several universities in our country, mottos that express an awareness of or a dependency upon God. James reminded the participants that prayers are not forgotten by God. Jesus ever lives to make intercession (Hebrews 7:25), and the prayers of God's people are collected in heaven (Revelation 5:8). Intercessors from today can pray and come into agreement with those petitions that have been previously prayed. James also reminded the participants that former prophetic promises are available for activation and that, as believers agree with previous prayers and prophecies, those prayers and prophecies are kept alive. The participants in the meeting stood in agreement in the name of Jesus for the true meaning of the school mottos to be on-going. Some information on the government's handling of education and the Christian's view of education will be discussed below:
The Government's Handling of Education:
According to US Senator John Shimkus from Illinois, this past week was National School Choice Week. Held every January, the designated week seeks to raise public awareness of the education options available to children, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling.
Significant progress was made toward the goals of supporting efforts to expand the options available to students, restoring local control of schools and reducing the federal footprint in education when S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act, was signed into law last December. That bipartisan legislation was the first major education bill to be signed into law since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002.
Shimkus feels that NCLB was unpopular with parents and teachers alike; but since it expired in 2007, the Department of Education has been operating without any clear direction from Congress. That void enabled the Obama Administration to impose their own vision of public education on the country, oftentimes coercing states and local districts into adopting the controversial Common Core curriculum. The new law, S.1177, now expressly prohibits the federal government from forcing or incentivizing the adoption of Common Core. It also eliminates federally-prescribed school turnaround models, putting states and local school districts in charge of designing their own accountability and intervention procedures.
The new law eliminates NCLB’s Adequate Yearly Progress performance measurement system with its over-reliance on standardized testing that forced teachers to spend too much time "teaching to the test." Instead, it allows parents to opt their children out of the annual assessment if state law allows. A copy of a summary of the act can be found at this link.
The Christian's View of Education
Psalm 127:3 says that "Children are the heritage of the Lord"; and scriptures provide directions for rearing children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, including instructions that parents are responsible for what their children learn. In this country, as in many countries, parents have relegated the education process to other institutions. The purpose here is not to champion for or against this but to illustrate one way prayers and intercessions can be made for those institutions.
Most of the nation's top colleges and universities' mottos will communicate that the school began with knowledge of and commitment to God and His word. Following are the mottos (English versions) of the top colleges and universities known as the Ivy League:
• Brown University: In God we hope.
• Columbia University: In Thy light shall we see light.
• Cornell University: I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.
• Dartmouth College: A voice crying in the wilderness
• Harvard University: Truth
• Princeton University: Under the protection of God she flourishes.
• University of Pennsylvania: Laws without morals are useless.
• Yale University: Light and truth
See more here:
For most of these universities, it is straightforward to pray in agreement with the original motto and ask God to reactivate the directive nature of those statements.
What about some of the 268 Illinois Colleges, Community Colleges, and Trade Schools? Most of the mottos have no reference to God but the words can be redirected to reflect God's design. The believer can pray that the motto be expressed through biblical truth and not through a humanistic or atheistic expression of the motto. Each of these Illinois school mottos can be interpreted through the lens of scripture. Following are a few examples of colleges and their mottos along with scripture that can bring that motto into the realm of the Kingdom of God.
• University of Chicago motto: Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched.
Scriptures: For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6). My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity (Proverbs 3:1, 2). My son do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament of grace around your neck (Proverbs 3:21,22).
• University of Illinois motto: Learning and Labor.
Scriptures: That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil - this is the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 3: 13). Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense (Proverbs 12:11). Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven Matthew (5:16).
• Illinois State University motto: Gladly we Learn and Teach.
Scriptures: Learn to do right; seek justice (Isaiah 1:17a). Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice (Philippians 4:9). Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance (Proverbs 1:5). Moses said, "Teach me your ways so that I may know you and continue to find favor with you (Exodus 33:13).
• Northwestern University motto: Whatsoever things are true.
Scriptures: Whatsoever things are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things (Philippians 4:8). The Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. He is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).
• Southern Illinois University motto of both the Carbondale and the Edwardsville schools: God Willing or God wills.
Scriptures: Do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is (Ephesians 5:17). For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose (Philippians 2:13).
• Principia College motto: As the sowing, the reaping.
Scriptures: The one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward (Proverbs 11:18b). Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love (Hosea 10:12). Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness (James 3:18). Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).
God's word provides principles that can produce prayers for each school reflecting God's will.
On Saturday, January 30th, James Nesbit held a meeting at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. One of the highlights of the meeting was reviewing the mottos of several universities in our country, mottos that express an awareness of or a dependency upon God. James reminded the participants that prayers are not forgotten by God. Jesus ever lives to make intercession (Hebrews 7:25), and the prayers of God's people are collected in heaven (Revelation 5:8). Intercessors from today can pray and come into agreement with those petitions that have been previously prayed. James also reminded the participants that former prophetic promises are available for activation and that, as believers agree with previous prayers and prophecies, those prayers and prophecies are kept alive. The participants in the meeting stood in agreement in the name of Jesus for the true meaning of the school mottos to be on-going. Some information on the government's handling of education and the Christian's view of education will be discussed below:
The Government's Handling of Education:
According to US Senator John Shimkus from Illinois, this past week was National School Choice Week. Held every January, the designated week seeks to raise public awareness of the education options available to children, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling.
Significant progress was made toward the goals of supporting efforts to expand the options available to students, restoring local control of schools and reducing the federal footprint in education when S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act, was signed into law last December. That bipartisan legislation was the first major education bill to be signed into law since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002.
Shimkus feels that NCLB was unpopular with parents and teachers alike; but since it expired in 2007, the Department of Education has been operating without any clear direction from Congress. That void enabled the Obama Administration to impose their own vision of public education on the country, oftentimes coercing states and local districts into adopting the controversial Common Core curriculum. The new law, S.1177, now expressly prohibits the federal government from forcing or incentivizing the adoption of Common Core. It also eliminates federally-prescribed school turnaround models, putting states and local school districts in charge of designing their own accountability and intervention procedures.
The new law eliminates NCLB’s Adequate Yearly Progress performance measurement system with its over-reliance on standardized testing that forced teachers to spend too much time "teaching to the test." Instead, it allows parents to opt their children out of the annual assessment if state law allows. A copy of a summary of the act can be found at this link.
The Christian's View of Education
Psalm 127:3 says that "Children are the heritage of the Lord"; and scriptures provide directions for rearing children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, including instructions that parents are responsible for what their children learn. In this country, as in many countries, parents have relegated the education process to other institutions. The purpose here is not to champion for or against this but to illustrate one way prayers and intercessions can be made for those institutions.
Most of the nation's top colleges and universities' mottos will communicate that the school began with knowledge of and commitment to God and His word. Following are the mottos (English versions) of the top colleges and universities known as the Ivy League:
• Brown University: In God we hope.
• Columbia University: In Thy light shall we see light.
• Cornell University: I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.
• Dartmouth College: A voice crying in the wilderness
• Harvard University: Truth
• Princeton University: Under the protection of God she flourishes.
• University of Pennsylvania: Laws without morals are useless.
• Yale University: Light and truth
See more here:
For most of these universities, it is straightforward to pray in agreement with the original motto and ask God to reactivate the directive nature of those statements.
What about some of the 268 Illinois Colleges, Community Colleges, and Trade Schools? Most of the mottos have no reference to God but the words can be redirected to reflect God's design. The believer can pray that the motto be expressed through biblical truth and not through a humanistic or atheistic expression of the motto. Each of these Illinois school mottos can be interpreted through the lens of scripture. Following are a few examples of colleges and their mottos along with scripture that can bring that motto into the realm of the Kingdom of God.
• University of Chicago motto: Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched.
Scriptures: For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6). My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity (Proverbs 3:1, 2). My son do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament of grace around your neck (Proverbs 3:21,22).
• University of Illinois motto: Learning and Labor.
Scriptures: That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil - this is the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 3: 13). Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense (Proverbs 12:11). Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven Matthew (5:16).
• Illinois State University motto: Gladly we Learn and Teach.
Scriptures: Learn to do right; seek justice (Isaiah 1:17a). Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice (Philippians 4:9). Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance (Proverbs 1:5). Moses said, "Teach me your ways so that I may know you and continue to find favor with you (Exodus 33:13).
• Northwestern University motto: Whatsoever things are true.
Scriptures: Whatsoever things are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things (Philippians 4:8). The Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. He is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).
• Southern Illinois University motto of both the Carbondale and the Edwardsville schools: God Willing or God wills.
Scriptures: Do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is (Ephesians 5:17). For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose (Philippians 2:13).
• Principia College motto: As the sowing, the reaping.
Scriptures: The one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward (Proverbs 11:18b). Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love (Hosea 10:12). Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness (James 3:18). Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).
God's word provides principles that can produce prayers for each school reflecting God's will.
Feeding the Poor by Debra Bettis-Holt
In the following article, Debra Bettis-Holt of Decatur, Illinois tells how she became involved in making a global difference in feeding the poor:
After I had taken a missions trip to El Salvador and saw the extreme poverty and hunger, I cried out to the Lord and asked God to release the vision to someone for a way to make a difference on a bigger scale, to open the eyes of marketers and people with genius in the realm of marketing, to release a creative idea to someone! A few years later I was told the story of Steven and Angela Thompson who returned from abroad with the same feeling I had experienced.
Steven was in the top ranks of the Fortune 500 in marketing. He was a multi millionaire with everything money could buy. God dropped into his heart the desire to shift his efforts from a company supplying health food stores to a global plan for doing away with hunger. The company, Zilis, is about six months old. Although it started in the Dallas Texas area, Illinois has been its primary launch pad where it has taken off incredibly! Stephen is visiting Illinois at least once a month to train individuals for the project.
The plan provides a way for monies to go into the hands of individuals for advertising and spreading the word to others in their sphere of influence as opposed to paying millions of dollars to TV and magazine advertising. Yet 75% or more of the monies go into actual nutrition sachets which are sprinkled on the rice or mush the children are served. This is a huge percentage compared to an average of sixteen cents that many other companies are actually putting into food according to Mr. Thompson. A box of 30 packets will sprinkle the full day's nutrition on a child's food every day for a month. Ninety percent of malnutrition is not because a child doesn't eat, but because the child does not get the proper nutrition that the body needs.
The plan seems very effective because the sachets are shipped directly from the company so there is no inventory to manage or store or ship. The plan has gone viral because of the rapid spreading of the word on internet. I found it interesting that it launched so close to the location of Global Spheres Center in Dallas, Texas and that it predominately took off in Illinois, prophetically identified as the Apostolic State. Life Streams in Decatur has allowed a Regional Ambassador to use their building to help get the word out.
According to https://zilis.com/, malnutrition is the #1 risk to health worldwide. One-third of the world’s people, the majority in developing countries, either do not have access to or cannot afford a diet that is properly nutritious. About 165 million children under the age of 5 are impacted by this epidemic and the results are devastating. Although their diet may contain sufficient calories, they lack the proper nutrients that are essential for the proper physical and mental development. We call this epidemic 'invisible hunger.' From birth defects, weakened immune systems, developmental disabilities and stunted physical growth, the long-term health effects are dire. In addition, there is plentiful evidence that proper nutrition for children in developing countries is fundamental to breaking the cycle of poverty. In 2012, the Copenhagen consensus invited a panel of eminent economists from around the world to study malnutrition. This panel determined that providing vitamin and mineral supplements to malnourished children is the best investment possible to advance global welfare.
In the following article, Debra Bettis-Holt of Decatur, Illinois tells how she became involved in making a global difference in feeding the poor:
After I had taken a missions trip to El Salvador and saw the extreme poverty and hunger, I cried out to the Lord and asked God to release the vision to someone for a way to make a difference on a bigger scale, to open the eyes of marketers and people with genius in the realm of marketing, to release a creative idea to someone! A few years later I was told the story of Steven and Angela Thompson who returned from abroad with the same feeling I had experienced.
Steven was in the top ranks of the Fortune 500 in marketing. He was a multi millionaire with everything money could buy. God dropped into his heart the desire to shift his efforts from a company supplying health food stores to a global plan for doing away with hunger. The company, Zilis, is about six months old. Although it started in the Dallas Texas area, Illinois has been its primary launch pad where it has taken off incredibly! Stephen is visiting Illinois at least once a month to train individuals for the project.
The plan provides a way for monies to go into the hands of individuals for advertising and spreading the word to others in their sphere of influence as opposed to paying millions of dollars to TV and magazine advertising. Yet 75% or more of the monies go into actual nutrition sachets which are sprinkled on the rice or mush the children are served. This is a huge percentage compared to an average of sixteen cents that many other companies are actually putting into food according to Mr. Thompson. A box of 30 packets will sprinkle the full day's nutrition on a child's food every day for a month. Ninety percent of malnutrition is not because a child doesn't eat, but because the child does not get the proper nutrition that the body needs.
The plan seems very effective because the sachets are shipped directly from the company so there is no inventory to manage or store or ship. The plan has gone viral because of the rapid spreading of the word on internet. I found it interesting that it launched so close to the location of Global Spheres Center in Dallas, Texas and that it predominately took off in Illinois, prophetically identified as the Apostolic State. Life Streams in Decatur has allowed a Regional Ambassador to use their building to help get the word out.
According to https://zilis.com/, malnutrition is the #1 risk to health worldwide. One-third of the world’s people, the majority in developing countries, either do not have access to or cannot afford a diet that is properly nutritious. About 165 million children under the age of 5 are impacted by this epidemic and the results are devastating. Although their diet may contain sufficient calories, they lack the proper nutrients that are essential for the proper physical and mental development. We call this epidemic 'invisible hunger.' From birth defects, weakened immune systems, developmental disabilities and stunted physical growth, the long-term health effects are dire. In addition, there is plentiful evidence that proper nutrition for children in developing countries is fundamental to breaking the cycle of poverty. In 2012, the Copenhagen consensus invited a panel of eminent economists from around the world to study malnutrition. This panel determined that providing vitamin and mineral supplements to malnourished children is the best investment possible to advance global welfare.
The Seven Mountains of Culture and the Five-fold Ministry of the Church by Joyce Geiler
The five-fold gifts need to be functioning in each of the seven mountains. The influence of the church should be impacting every sphere if Christians are to take dominion as commanded in Gen. 1:28 and affirmed in Psalm 8:6 (“Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.”)
In 1975, Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade, Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With a Mission, and Francis Schaeffer were all given a similar message. That message was that if any nation is to be impacted for Jesus Christ, then seven spheres or mountains of society that are the pillars of any society would have to be impacted. It is in these spheres of influence where culture will be gained or lost. Over the past several decades, many Christians have grasped the concept that God revealed to these men and have written and taught extensively about it.
In 2008, James Nesbit released his Seven Mountain Collection or prophetic art that included a collage-style image for each of the seven mountains of religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business, as well as a piece called The Seven Mountain Strategy. This concept is so important that in 2015, James released another series of the seven mountains of culture, which he calls the Seven Mind Molders of Culture.
Also, in 2015, James released a series of the Five-Fold Ministry Gifts, which has one piece for each of the gifts and one piece in which the hand represents the relationships between the five giftings and the body of Christ. The five-fold giftings as expressed in Ephesians 4:11 & 12 are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers and are given "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."
The fingers of the hand can illustrate the function of each of the ministry gifts. As James' art illustrates, the thumb represents the apostle who touches all of the other four gifts and enables the apostle to grasp and connect people. The index finger is like the prophet who is positioned close to the apostle and points to the way of God. The middle finger is the longest with the greatest outreach like the evangelist. The ring finger is like the pastor, married to the body of Christ. And the little finger is like the teacher, the only finger small enough to get into your ear, which is symbolic of helping students to clearly hear the truth of God’s Word. These analogies are commonly used within the apostolic/prophetic streams of the church, but James has masterfully brought them together in his art. To view the artwork discussed in this article and other pieces from James’ inspired collections, visit http://jnesbit.com/
If we believe that all the earth is the Lord's and the nations are given to Christ for His inheritance, then it follows that the influence of the Church, the Ekklesia, the Body of Christ, is essential in all the cultural spheres or mountains. If the ministry of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher are limited to only the Religion Mountain, then it must be hoped that as the "saints" are perfected they will influence the other six mountains. But why the segregation of the ministry giftings to Religion only? Cannot the five-fold ministers influence the rest of society? Must they be limited to religion or the church?
You may know of an apostle who reaches out to the mayor, the police chief, even the governor, with an offer of friendship and caring about the functioning of the city or state. What about the prophet who is so respected by city officials that he can impart a biblical perspective into the local government's decision making? The evangelist can volunteer to head up a city event and encourage his parishioners to serve the city. Being the servant hands of Jesus is powerful evangelism. Think of the pastor who does not limit himself to simply giving the invocation at city meetings but who takes an active role in the affairs of the city and who sees his role as "pastoring the city." The teacher can teach biblical principles that benefit all people. Within the church, the special language of Christianity is understood, but in the community where that “special language’ is less understood or accepted, the principles of Christianity can be demonstrated and communicated in such a manner as to draw people to a Way of Life that they want to know more about. Each of the five-fold ministry gifts has something unique to impart to the community and to the state of Illinois.
The five-fold gifts need to be functioning in each of the seven mountains. The influence of the church should be impacting every sphere if Christians are to take dominion as commanded in Gen. 1:28 and affirmed in Psalm 8:6 (“Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.”)
In 1975, Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade, Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With a Mission, and Francis Schaeffer were all given a similar message. That message was that if any nation is to be impacted for Jesus Christ, then seven spheres or mountains of society that are the pillars of any society would have to be impacted. It is in these spheres of influence where culture will be gained or lost. Over the past several decades, many Christians have grasped the concept that God revealed to these men and have written and taught extensively about it.
In 2008, James Nesbit released his Seven Mountain Collection or prophetic art that included a collage-style image for each of the seven mountains of religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business, as well as a piece called The Seven Mountain Strategy. This concept is so important that in 2015, James released another series of the seven mountains of culture, which he calls the Seven Mind Molders of Culture.
Also, in 2015, James released a series of the Five-Fold Ministry Gifts, which has one piece for each of the gifts and one piece in which the hand represents the relationships between the five giftings and the body of Christ. The five-fold giftings as expressed in Ephesians 4:11 & 12 are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers and are given "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."
The fingers of the hand can illustrate the function of each of the ministry gifts. As James' art illustrates, the thumb represents the apostle who touches all of the other four gifts and enables the apostle to grasp and connect people. The index finger is like the prophet who is positioned close to the apostle and points to the way of God. The middle finger is the longest with the greatest outreach like the evangelist. The ring finger is like the pastor, married to the body of Christ. And the little finger is like the teacher, the only finger small enough to get into your ear, which is symbolic of helping students to clearly hear the truth of God’s Word. These analogies are commonly used within the apostolic/prophetic streams of the church, but James has masterfully brought them together in his art. To view the artwork discussed in this article and other pieces from James’ inspired collections, visit http://jnesbit.com/
If we believe that all the earth is the Lord's and the nations are given to Christ for His inheritance, then it follows that the influence of the Church, the Ekklesia, the Body of Christ, is essential in all the cultural spheres or mountains. If the ministry of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher are limited to only the Religion Mountain, then it must be hoped that as the "saints" are perfected they will influence the other six mountains. But why the segregation of the ministry giftings to Religion only? Cannot the five-fold ministers influence the rest of society? Must they be limited to religion or the church?
You may know of an apostle who reaches out to the mayor, the police chief, even the governor, with an offer of friendship and caring about the functioning of the city or state. What about the prophet who is so respected by city officials that he can impart a biblical perspective into the local government's decision making? The evangelist can volunteer to head up a city event and encourage his parishioners to serve the city. Being the servant hands of Jesus is powerful evangelism. Think of the pastor who does not limit himself to simply giving the invocation at city meetings but who takes an active role in the affairs of the city and who sees his role as "pastoring the city." The teacher can teach biblical principles that benefit all people. Within the church, the special language of Christianity is understood, but in the community where that “special language’ is less understood or accepted, the principles of Christianity can be demonstrated and communicated in such a manner as to draw people to a Way of Life that they want to know more about. Each of the five-fold ministry gifts has something unique to impart to the community and to the state of Illinois.